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Rwanda Education Assistance
Project
Five Samuel Purdy Lane
Katonah, NY 10536
info@rwandaedu.org
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 Background
As a result of the 1994 genocide (800,000 deaths in a three month period) and
the AIDS pandemic, Rwanda has over 600,000 orphans out of a population of ten
million people. By the age of eighteen, many children are faced with the
impending decision of having to leave an orphanage without the support of any
family (nuclear or extended), an unfinished education, few or no skills, and no
employment.
Of the 2.15 million students who attend primary school, approximately 266,000
(10%) are enrolled in secondary school. Student/teacher ratio is 71/1, which is
one of the highest in Africa. Most primary schools lack sufficient
infrastructure, libraries, scholastic materials, as well as trained teachers.
Currently, the Rwandan government is in the process of redesigning the
educational system by lengthening primary school from six to nine years, and
reducing secondary school to three years in an effort to ensure a greater number
of children are in school longer. Due to the disruption of education, poverty,
and lack of educational opportunity, an even smaller proportion of children go
on to university. With 90% lacking a secondary school education, many children
are pushed into the economy with few skills to contribute.
Currently, there are two primary schools, Ecole Primaire de Ntunga and Ecole
Primaire de Musha, in the rural area of Musha near the Hameau des Jeunes
orphanage. Both schools are in disrepair, with inadequate classrooms, lack of
bathroom facilities, no libraries, and no electricity. REAP will initially
undertake the repair, renovation and revitalization of these two schools to
address these infrastructure needs. The local administrator of Musha has
stressed the dire need for a new primary school. Ultimately, REAP proposes to
build a new primary school to meet the growing needs of the Musha community.
This school will serve as a student teacher training site and will also be used
as a laboratory school. REAP has a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate
with the Kigali Institute of Education, the premier school of teacher training
in Rwanda. The benefit of this collaboration will be to ensure the highest
quality of teacher training, increase the number of teachers available for the
classroom, develop regular in-service training, and provide support for
teachers. The primary school in Mushu will stand as a model for primary
education reform in rural Rwanda.
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RWANDA
EDUCATION ASSISTANCE
PROJECT
