Promoting English Education

Rwanda’s education system has undergone some significant changes over the past couple years.  The introduction of the 9-years Basic Education Program stipulates that all children deserve the right to a free education for at least the first 9 years (grades 1-9).  In addition, Rwanda recently switched from a Francophone teaching system to an Anglophone one.  These changes posed several challenges for students, teachers and schools.  Most students have (and still have in many cases) only a beginner level English; teachers who were used to teaching in French and Kinyarwanda now must teach in English (some took intensive English classes sponsored by the government to improve their skills); and many schools have been scrambling to build more classrooms and desks to accommodate the increase in students.

Primary Level Class



Today, when you visit a typical school, you may here Kinyarwanda being taught in the lower primary levels (grades 1-3) and English being taught in grades 4-9.  Rural schools usually have between 600-1500 students in the primary level and 100-300 students in lower secondary level; all on the same campus!  Most schools teach in shifts, dividing students into a morning group and afternoon group, in order to have room for this many students.

Our Community Aid projects have helped the 9-years Basic Education Program by building more classrooms at Gihinga, Muhehwe, Kagogo and Vumbi schools (see previous blog postings). In addition, this year we started English tutoring classes on the weekends for the Senior 3 level students (grade 9). These students are getting a chance to practice English and improve their vocabulary during the 3 hour long classes held on Saturdays and Sundays at each of the four schools we support. The extra classes will also help the Senior 3 students prepare for the National Exams which take place at the end of the school year. The National Exam is conducted entirely in English and determines whether or not a student is able to continue on to upper secondary level to finish his/her studies.

Secondary Level Senior 3 Class

With programs such as these, it is clear Rwanda has a strong focus on education and the development of the next generation of leaders.  Rogers Family Company hopes to continue supporting these schools and the initiative to promote English education for Rwanda.

Muhehwe School

Le Group Scolaire de Muhehwe sits perched on top of a hill overlooking coffee fields in the South West corner of Rwanda in the District of Rusizi. The school is part of the country’s nine-year basic education program and therefore offers the first three grade levels (S1, S2, S3) of secondary school as well. The nine-year basic education program is a government initiative to provide free education for all children up to secondary third year (equivalent to 9th grade) as a minimum basis of education. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled in primary and secondary levels at Muhehwe.

New Desks for Muhehwe

Not only are schools across the country building new classrooms for the secondary levels but they are also teaching the younger nursery school children as well. With rundown buildings, broken windows, and not enough desks, Muhehwe was struggling to accommodate the number of students enrolling. Our Community Aid Program, in collaboration with Rusizi Specialty Coffee washing station built one nursery school classroom and repaired four old buildings. We also bought 1,100 English, Social Studies and Math books and 150 desks for the students.

A quote from one of the students: “We are happy for saying thanks to our God who gave you the forces of helping our school…we say thanks to our sponsor Peter Rogers for his heart full of love; he gave us the classes, desks and books…really we can say more to our helper for your sacrifices, so we hope that you will not forget us.”