<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-page-heading" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:48px;margin:0px;font-family:PeriodicoDisplay-Bd;font-weight:500;line-height:52px;color:rgb(0,0,0);padding:15px 0px 20px">Gov't retreat agenda to focus on transformation, accountability</h1><div class="gmail-subtitle" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:Duplicate-Regular-Web;font-size:24px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;line-height:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-subtitle gmail-field-type-text-long gmail-field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-field-items" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-field-item even" style="box-sizing:border-box">This year's leadership retreat will explore ways to boost exports and investments as well as reflect on the country’s development course, take audit of past successes and failures and accelerating implementation.</div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-author_row gmail-clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:Duplicate-Regular-Web;border-top:1px solid rgb(177,178,178);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(177,178,178);padding:18px 0px;margin-bottom:30px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:13.008px"><div class="gmail-author_col" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:left;width:593.672px;padding-top:5px"><span class="gmail-article-author-name" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:Duplicate-Medium-Web;font-size:15px;letter-spacing:0.86px;margin-right:10px">By <div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-op-author gmail-field-type-node-reference gmail-field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block"><div class="gmail-field-items" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator" style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/profile/nasra-bishumba" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:none">Nasra Bishumba</a></div></div></div></span> <span class="gmail-article-date" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:15px;color:rgb(177,178,178);letter-spacing:0.86px">Published : March 05, 2019 | Updated : March 05, 2019</span></div><div class="gmail-author_socialmedia" style="box-sizing:border-box;float:right;width:261.906px;text-align:right"><ul class="gmail-clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;list-style:none none;padding:0px;font-size:0px"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;list-style:none;text-align:left;margin-right:13px"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="gmail-addthis_button_twitter gmail-at300b gmail-author-twitter" title="Twitter" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:none;background-position:0px -1222px;background-image:url("https://drflkq9jqzld5.cloudfront.net/sites/all/themes/tntrwanda/images/sprite_2x.png");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:316px 1250px;width:29px;height:29px;overflow:hidden;display:block"><span class="gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgb(29,161,242);line-height:16px;height:16px;width:16px"></span>Twitter</a></li> <li style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;list-style:none;text-align:left;margin-right:13px"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="gmail-addthis_button_facebook gmail-at300b gmail-author-facebook" title="Facebook" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:none;background-position:-48px -1222px;background-image:url("https://drflkq9jqzld5.cloudfront.net/sites/all/themes/tntrwanda/images/sprite_2x.png");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:316px 1250px;width:29px;height:29px;overflow:hidden;display:block"><span class="gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgb(59,89,152);line-height:16px;height:16px;width:16px"></span>Facebook</a></li> <li style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;list-style:none;text-align:left;margin-right:13px"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="gmail-addthis_button_email gmail-at300b gmail-author-email" title="Email" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:none;background-position:-97px -1222px;background-image:url("https://drflkq9jqzld5.cloudfront.net/sites/all/themes/tntrwanda/images/sprite_2x.png");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:316px 1250px;width:29px;height:29px;overflow:hidden;display:block"><span class="gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgb(132,132,132);line-height:16px;height:16px;width:16px"></span>Email</a></li> <li style="box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;list-style:none;text-align:left;margin-right:13px"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="gmail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1 and 2011, the 2017 Fifth Integrated Household Living Survey estimates that 22 per cent of children attending primary school repeated their class in 2015.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">The World Bank Rwanda Economic Update, which was released in Kigali in December last year said that the issues of low school completion rates, alarmingly low learning outcomes, and inadequate teachers’ skills among others must be addressed if any improvement in the education system is to be achieved.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">For instance, the World Bank observed that despite Rwanda having exceptionally high gross enrolment ratios in primary education, dropping out remains prevalent with only 68 per cent of first graders estimated to eventually complete six years of primary education.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">Specifically, the retreat seeks to reduce repetition and dropout rates, increase enrolment in secondary schools, improving quality in teacher training and use of ICT in teaching as well as how best to provide quality education from primary to tertiary education.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:18px">Experts weigh in</strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">The Chairperson of the Rwanda Civil Society Platform, Jean Léonard Sekanyange, told The New Times in a telephone interview that bringing the issues in the education sector to the retreat table was a good and timely idea.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">He partly blames the challenges in the sector to the unpredictability of the leadership caused by changes in the management of the Ministry of Education</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">“In the last 25 years, the education system hasn’t really been stable where everyone is happy with the results. This is mostly because the education ministers frequently change where you find that just as one is beginning to stabilise the system, he is replaced and then the new one also comes with other new changes. There is no stability,” he said.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">Sekanyange also said that while the government’s efforts to achieve universal education is commendable, it has undermined the quality of education.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">He proposes the establishment of a sustainable education programme which can be run by people who are experts in the sector and who will be given enough time to correct what is not working.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">“We also need a strategy where a child is followed up on a daily basis from the moment they start school to when they sit for exams. It should be mandatory for a student to attend classes for a particular number of hours before they are allowed to sit exams,” he said. </p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">Professor Eric Ndushabandi, a lecturer of Political Science at University of Rwanda (UR) told The New Times in an interview that he was looking forward to frank discussions regarding a language policy where both English and French can be used 50/50 especially in Higher Institutions of Learning.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">“It would be great to see discussions on pushing for an education system that emphasizes competitiveness and an accountable education system that inspects and conducts regular monitoring and evaluation of school leaders and teachers. We also need discussions at the retreat addressing education that emphasizes competitiveness, emulation, failing or repeating subjects as part of the process,” he said.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">The National Leadership Retreat, commonly known as Umwiherero, borrows from a tradition in Rwandan culture whereby leaders would convene to reflect on issues affecting their communities.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px">The objective of these meetings was to identify solutions and commit to achieving them. Today, the annual national leadership retreat has become one of several home grown governance tools that allow the country leaders to hold themselves accountable.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 20px;font-size:20px;line-height:30px"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:18px"><em style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:PeriodicoText-RgIt"><a href="mailto:editorial@newtimesrwanda.com" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,101,172);text-decoration-line:none">editorial@newtimesrwanda.com</a></em></strong></p></div></div></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>