Rwanda/OER

For more information on Rwanda see the specific POERUP report File:Opening Up Education in Rwanda.pdf and the Re.ViCa/VISCED country report on http://www.virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Rwanda

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Policies Survey notes:

In Rwanda, OER are largely the initiative of individuals who use them to enhance educational materials at the higher education level, but Rwanda’s National Information and Communication Infrastructure Plan (The National Digital Library Project) makes reference to OER in educational strategies.

The respondent to Policies Survey from Rwanda noted that "The Government of Rwanda is very willing to develop ODeL to make education more accessible … The department in charge of ICT in Education and ODeL [was] established a few months ago … OERs will definitely be used by this department for cost-effective quality education … There is also a plan to develop a national digital library and OERs will be a significant component of this library … In [the] Rwanda Education Sector Strategic Plan (http://mineduc.gov.rw/IMG/pdf/ESSP.pdf) there is a plan to develop ODeL for capacity building in the country. OERs as digital content might play a significant role in this ODeL development."

Overview

Rwanda, in full the Republic of Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is a country located in the Great Lakes region of eastern-central Africa, bordered by Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south, the Congo Democratic Republic to the west and Tanzania to the east. Its population is a little over 10,000,000 and its capital is Kigali. Most Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda, one of the country's three official languages, and in market towns many people speak Swahili. Educated Rwandans speak French and English. In 2008 the Rwandan government announced that English would become the primary language of instruction in schools, replacing French. This change was initiated "to ensure further integration with the global economic community".

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Rwanda/OER.

Education in Rwanda/OER

For a general description of education in Rwanda/OER see Education:Rwanda/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:Rwanda/OER.

Some years ago the Rwandan government formed a national strategy for information and communications technology ("ICT") aiming to link public institutions of higher education (and later, private institutions) via network then called RWEDNET. There is also hope that this can be expanded to link secondary schools (and potentially, primary schools) together. There is a shortage of ICT skills at the present time which limits ICT education to tertiary institutions and elite secondary schools. Rwanda is a participant in the imfundo project (which means “education” in the Ndebele language), a partnership between DFID, large high technology companies, and a number of developing countries. The aim of the project is to raise attainment through distance learning and professional development courses in ICT for teachers. There is hope that advancing the development of these skills will allow Rwanda's economy to grow into new and more profitable areas. This is limited, however, by weaknesses in infrastructure. Many areas lack phone lines, let alone computing facilities. In an effort to improve the situation, the government has been opening telecommunications centers where staff can receive ICT training. This training is already paying dividends, with many students now being offered well paid (by local standards) part time work. Rwanda could attract business through the bilingual French and English skills many locals have. In October 2006, the NEPAD e-Africa Commission launched a project to further develop ICT in Rwandan schools. The project will link up schools across Africa, including primary and secondary levels, and is intended to grow; eventually it will incorporate all Rwandan secondary schools. A lot of work in ICT education is being done by KIST (Kigali Institute of Science and Technology) and the E-ICT Integrated Training Center. (1)

OLPC Rwanda Rwanda, under the strong conviction of president Paul Kagame, has committed to deploying 100,000 laptops across the country. This is partly supported by a collaboration between the wealthier city schools and the poorer rural schools. OLPC has also set up a major learning center in Rwanda, OLPC-Rwanda, which aims to serve the educational and learning needs of Rwanda and other countries across Africa. See http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Rwanda (1)

Internet in Rwanda/OER

Rwanda leads the region in terms of ICT adoption and infrastructure development. The country has a 100% mobile telecommunication coverage. Three Mobile phone operators (MTN, RwandaTel and TIGO) provide 3G mobile phone and internet services. In 2009, WiBro technology was launched in Kigali enabling users to access high speed wireless Internet from any part of the city. (1)

OER Initiatives in Rwanda/OER

Institutional OER initiatives

Kigali Insitute of Education, Rwanda, is part of the TESSA network.

References

1. ReVica/VISCED page for Rwanda (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Rwanda) by Paul Bacsich
2. File:Opening Up Education in Rwanda.pdf by Charlotte Doody

Reports

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