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May 2021 – Rwanda: Fifteen months into a global pandemic and Rwanda is making every effort to re-open its schools to students. But with many children in remote areas with little to no facilities, the added challenge of COVID-19 has plighted an already stretched education system. Rwanda’s Ministry of Education has dedicated vast resources to developing the accessibility of learning throughout the country.
Huge strides had already been made in the education sector prior to the pandemic with free schooling being extended to 12 years, however the restrictive measures now needed, paired with the expansive areas that require schooling coverage is no easy task for any education ministry.
GPE (Global Partnership of Education) has been working tirelessly in partnership with international NGOs, the World Bank and Rwanda’s Ministry of Education in order to implement key funding to support Rwanda’s long-term strategy ‘National Strategy for Transformation and Prosperity’, where education is a key component. COVID-19 has meant priority changes in the strategy’s direction, but the central core values of strengthening the quality and accessibility of education to Rwanda’s younger generations remain.
The knock-on effects of the pandemic have meant higher unemployment and a rise in poverty, with the most vulnerable in society being hit the worst. GPE’s funding in partnership with the World Bank has provided schools in numerous areas with a school feeding programme, ensuring that children from deprived backgrounds are given a lunchtime meal.
Considering how to manage re-opening Rwanda’s schools during COVID-19 has been at the forefront of GPE’s partnership working and with an allocation of US$10 million, it has been imperative for safeguarding measures to be implemented as quickly as possible to minimize disruption in education. Vast increases in water tanks and hand-washing facilities have been brought into schools across the nation, with provisions for temperatures checks and face masks also supporting efforts to keep students in safe and healthy school environments. The longer-term outcome of such an investment means that the building of a more resilient education system can take place with immediate effect, to protect it from future crises.
10 July 2021
