Rwanda

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) is committed to pursuing ICT led socio-economic development with the vision to modernise the Rwandan economy and society using ICT as an engine for; accelerated development and economic growth, national prosperity and global competitiveness.

GeSCI began its engagement with Rwanda in 2008. There is one full-time GeSCI staff assigned to the programme and working out of the Ministry of Education in Rwanda. This staff member is supported by GeSCI's experts in Nairobi and Dublin.

Rwanda offers GeSCI one of its biggest programme challenges while also offering an opportunity for GeSCI to truly make a significant difference. The challenge stems from the fact that there is very limited capacity, in general in Rwanda as the country's human and economic resources were destroyed by the Genocide. However, there is a tremendous opportunity for GeSCI to build capacity and providing strategic advice in an environment where there is very high political support for ICTs and Education and where the development agenda is anchored in the use of ICTs and Education for economic development. Already, it is clear that GeSCI's support is transforming the Ministry of

Education's ICT agenda and programmes. Some of the early achievements for GeSCI include:

  • Provided strategic advice to the Ministry in the restructuring of the ICT unit and recruitment of appropriate personnel
  • Advised the MoE and coordinated the development of a comprehensive ICT in Education Policy with multi-stakeholder consultations;
  • Advised the MoE on the development of a Strategic Plan for ICTs in Education stemming from the policy- this plan is expected to be completed by the end of the year;
  • Assisted the Ministry to undertake a comprehensive capacity audit of the National Curriculum Development Center's (NCDC) e-content development capacity- as a result of this audit, capacity gaps are being addressed and so far NCDC has embarked on the development of content for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and this work will lead to wider development of e-content for Rwanda;
  • Assisted the Ministry to negotiate with various commercial and non-profit ICT equipment and services providers and to ensure that their contributions are aligned to the Ministries priorities and that there is no duplication of activities;
  • Assisted the Ministry to review the often fragmented Teacher Professional Development (TPD) efforts related to ICTs- as a result, the Ministry with GeSCI's advice is in the process of developing a unified strategy for TPD in ICTs.

 

GeSCI's current MoU with Rwanda anticipates an end-date of March 2010. In the next few months, GeSCI's work in Rwanda will focus on:

a)      Assisting the MoE to finalize the ICT in Education Strategy including detailed costing and budgets

b)      Assisting and advising the MoE to set up effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and school support plans for ICT in Education programmes

c)       Advising and building the capacity of NCDC to produce its own e-content

d)      Advising the MoE on how to successfully use and integrate the ICT infrastructure in the schools in an effective manner to improve teaching and learning

e)      Assisting and advising the MoE to finalize the development of its TPD for ICT strategy and its operationalization.

f)       Continuing to provide guidance to the MoE on coordinating the various commercial and non-commercial partnerships

g)      Assisting and advising the MoE in its bid to establish an Open Distance and e-Learning programme for secondary and tertiary levels.

h)   Assisting and advising the MoE in its bid to develop and deploy an Education Management Information System including strengthening its own internal ICT infrastructure and     systems which will make the overall management of the education system more efficient and effective.