Rwanda is a very small country in East Africa whose local language is Kinyarwanda. The philosophy of Rwandan Education is to ensure that children at every level of education acquire relevant knowledge, skills and appropriate attitudes that prepares them to integrate in society and exploit employment opportunities. In line with this, the government of Rwanda launched and implemented a new curriculum in 2015 called Competence Based Curriculum (CBC), with a mention of the notion of curriculum for sustainable development in the 21st century. The document is written in English and serves as an official guide to competence teaching and learning and ensures consistency and coherence in the delivery of the curriculum across all levels of general education.

The CBC information for all the subjects and syllabuses of mathematics, developed by the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), can be found at: https://reb.rw/fileadmin/competence_based_curriculum/index0.html

On this official website, the organization of the levels of education and the aims of education, and of mathematics education in particular, can be found. Alongside with reasons about the importance of school mathematics across the educational levels, the following stances are made in the document of the Rwandan Curriculum Framework (RCF, https://reb.rw/fileadmin/competence_based_curriculum/syllabi/CURRICULUM_FRAMEWORK__FINAL_VERSION_PRINTED.compressed.pdf):

“Mathematical competence enhances critical thinking skills and problem solving. Mathematical education enables learners to be systematic, creative and self-confident in using mathematical language and techniques to reason deductively. Mathematics equips learners with knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to enable them to succeed in an era of rapid technological growth and socio-economic development.” (p. 56, RCF)

Importantly, the Government of Rwanda, through MINEDUC and REB, is conducting the “Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development” (QBEHCD) Project. One of the QBEHCD aims is to enhance teaching practices for improved student learning by supporting the professional development of mathematics and science teachers. The main beneficiaries are students and mathematics and science teachers of the lower secondary schools in the country.

Aline Dorimana
Rwandan Representative