As Hope of Family continues to make significant strides in improving children’s education through various interventions, one of the key events that will contribute to these strides is the National Foundational Learning Symposium, which brought together partners and stakeholders from various sectors to discuss ways to enhance the quality of learning in Rwandan schools.
The two-day National Foundational Learning Symposium which was held in Kigali from 6-7 July 2023 under the theme: “Accelerating Forward to Develop Foundational Literacy and Numeracy” was organized by the Rwandan Ministry of Education in partnership with the World Bank and was opened by the Honorable Minister of Education, Valentine UWAMARIYA, who appreciated development partners for the support to improve foundational learning and education delivery.
The Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Gaspard TWAGIRAYEZU said, “Rwanda aspires to reach upper-middle-income status by 2035 and high-income status in 2050 but achieving this vision requires building the required Human Capital starting with foundational literacy and numeracy. Currently, learning outcomes in foundational skills remain low and this is why we are convened here today to rethink strategies on which best practices we can adopt to improve the situation.”
For Him, To accelerate progress, we need an evidence-based and well-designed interventions, implementation of interventions with fidelity, effective coordination and rethinking pathways for sustainability
The event brought together more than 100 participants, including officials and technical experts from government institutions, teachers, students, parents, development partners, NGOs and the private sector to discuss the progress to strengthen foundational learning.
Executive Director of Hope of Family Mr. IYAMUREMYE NSHUTI Augustin
Hope of Family NGO, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children’s education, had the privilege of participating in this symposium. According to the Executive Director of Hope of Family Mr. IYAMUREMYE NSHUTI Augustin “The National Foundational Learning Symposium provided an ideal platform for networking and collaboration among organizations working towards improving education in Rwanda.”
He said, “Hope of Family took advantage of this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations, forming partnerships that would enhance their impact.”
“Another important thing is that we are going to urgently establish a children’s library in order to support children to increase in basic literacy and numeracy. We have made a connection with another organization we met during the symposium, which will assist us in purchasing books and toys for children. These resources will aid them in acquiring knowledge in reading Kinyarwanda, as well as learning Mathematics through games and reading illustrated stories.” Mr. IYAMUREMYE said.
During the symposium, international and local experts and practitioners shared their best practices and success stories in the field of education.
Hope of Family actively participated in these sessions, absorbing valuable insights and strategies to apply in their own programs. By learning from the experiences of others, HoF gained a deeper understanding of effective educational interventions, enabling them to better serve the children and families they support.
Mr. IYAMUREMYE explained, “As an organization that prioritizes children’s education, Hope of Family has acquired information about the government’s policy on Foundational Learning and Several initiatives that are in place to ensure that children complete the early years of primary school with solid foundational skills in Literacy and Numeracy.”
“This will assist us in understanding how to monitor the children supported by HoF through the counselling we provide to parents as a component of parental involvement,” He added.
Rwanda’s Minister of Education addressing the symposium
Monitoring and evaluating the impact of educational programs is crucial to ensure their effectiveness and make informed decisions for improvement. The symposium highlighted the significance of robust monitoring and evaluation systems in education. Most of international expert highlighted that we have to focus on the Process rather than practices.
HoF recognized the need to strengthen their own monitoring and evaluation practices to measure the outcomes and impact of their interventions accurately.
“We have learned key lessons from other organizations and experts on how to design and implement effective monitoring and evaluation frameworks, ensuring that their programs are achieving the desired outcomes.” He said.
