Rwanda/U.S. Curriculum Translation

Rwanda Education System

School year: January to November Compulsory Education: 9th grade Graduation: 1st-12th

Rwanda/U.S. Grading Scale

Rwanda Transition Supports

Education Practice:

Education through 12th grade began being federally funded in 2012 and Rwanda is working towards becoming a one-to-one country for technology. Schools shifted to English as the official language of instruction in 2007, followed by Rwanda’s joining of the British Commonwealth in 2009. The education system is modeled somewhat after the British system, with students sitting for O and A level examinations. 

Despite significant progress, Rwandans on average only spend about 3.5 years in school. While the enrollment rate for primary school is high, it drops substantially for secondary school, falling to less than 30%. This is partially due to the substantial fees that families are required to pay for uniforms, books, and other dues, despite secondary education now being funded by the government. The rapid switch to English as the official language of instruction also caused challenges, as teachers were only given around four months to implement the change and were themselves taught in French. As a result, while close to 100% of primary teachers are considered highly qualified, this is only true for around two thirds of lower and upper secondary teachers. 

U.S. Educator Implications:

Because of the limited English skills of most teachers, students with credit in English should still sit for an English proficiency exam despite potentially high grades. 

Rwanda has recently placed an emphasis on competency-based education, which is more student-centered and aims to foster critical thinking. This is a divergence from the more teacher-centered lecture and memorization model that was used prior to educational reforms. However, change is slow and students may not feel comfortable thinking abstractly or creatively. 

Families may feel anxious about potential costs associated with education. Connecting families with resources such as federal free and reduced lunch forms, or discount uniform stores (where applicable), may help ease fears over cost, which could be limiting in Rwanda.

Strategies for Transition

• Get to know your students by building positive relationships.
• Provide multicultural education where texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives represent people from different cultural backgrounds.
• Allow a reasonable amount of transition time.
• The changes in the education system implemented in 2012 have been slow to take place; therefore, you may have students with significant gaps in education due to financial barriers and/or poor academic history due to underqualified educators. Providing differentiated instruction and intervention resources will be critical. 
• While female students in the major cities, such as Kigali, are nearly equally likely to finish their education as their male counterparts, this is less true for rural areas, which still expect women to stay home and take care of the house and children. Female students may therefore display deferential behaviors, such as downcast eye contact, during interactions with educators, especially those that are male. Encouraging gender equality for all students is a best practice. (USAID, 2014)
• The 1994 genocide is a very sensitive subject for Rwandans. It is considered taboo to ask Rwandans if they are Hutu or Tutsi. Conversations around race and ethnicity should only be held with extreme sensitivity. 
• Timeliness is not prioritized in Rwanda and it is not uncommon for people to arrive up to two hours late for an event or meeting. It will be key for educators to emphasize the importance of punctuality, and to provide initial leniency. 
• It is not uncommon for close friends of the same genders to hold hands as a sign of friendship, and should not be mistaken for an expression of sexuality, which is considered a taboo topic. Interactions between opposite sexes are limited, so partnering students with the same gender may be helpful as they build more comfort. 

Resources:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/GA%20-%20LEARN%20project%20-%20FINAL%20Sept%2018%202014%20-%20Public%20Version.pdf

https://elearning.reb.rw/pluginfile.php/28040/mod_resource/content/1/CURRICULUM_FRAMEWORK_FINAL.pdf

https://www.mineduc.gov.rw/