The Ministry of Education
Meeting with the Director of Tertiary Education in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Kayisire Callixte.
The responsibility of the education system – then
In the Second Republic after independence (1973-1994), under President Habyarimana, discrimination was based on ethnic and regional groupings and was part of the political and educational structures. Organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, the United Nations and individual countries reinforced Rwanda’s institutionalized discrimination; they were involved in funding schools that would only recruit students from one ethnic group. Division was indoctrinated.
Education pre-1994 did not teach people to think with a long-term perspective, having enough to eat was the first priority. Very few were educated – enough to fulfill government recruitment requirements. People were taught to be inward looking. People were not encouraged to look beyond Rwanda’s borders and very few passports were granted. Moreover, for many years education was seen as useless if one did not own land. People were told that they should kill for economic reasons – they were told Tutsi’s planned to claim land.
The responsibility of the education system – now
Therefore today Rwandans need to put more emphasis on the different uses of land and alternative resources in order to avoid further disputes or killings. Reconciliation is very possible. The most essential thing is to teach people how to live together. This involves a lot of effort. Long-term indoctrination demands long-term teaching of reconciliation. From Primary, Secondary to Tertiary, all institutions are revising syllabuses according to new guidelines. Students at whatever level will achieve what he is capable of in order to contribute to the development of the country.
There is emphasis on teaching science, technology and languages in order to solve the problem of people not wishing to travel outside the national boundaries. To achieve all this, Rwanda requires time and financial backing from aid agencies. There is a lack of schools and teachers. The role of the government is to give a vision of a united country, but it does not dictate policy. Reconciliation must come from living together; government must not impose it.
Not teaching history
International history is taught from Primary to University level. However, modern Rwandan history is not being taught because those teachers who taught division before 1994 are still in schools. The government plans to re-train these teachers, replace the syllabus and textbooks. A group of academics were asked by the government to highlight the contentious issues within the teaching of history. They identified 22 points of controversy. These included how Rwanda was first settled; the ethnicity of Tutsi, Twa and Hutu; and the Hutu revolution in 1959.
Teaching Human Rights
Every Rwandan will be taught about human rights. From 1962 Rwanda has been a member of the UN and has signed all Human Rights legislation. People must know what these conventions are. This is education for all.
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| Never again |
Rwanda Project |
| Previous events |
The Genocide Memory and Testimony |
Ibuka |
AVEGA Association for the support of Widows and Orphans of the Genocide |
National University of Rwanda |
National Security |
The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport |
Ministry of Justice and Institutional Relations |
| Gikondo Prison |
Gacaca |
| National Unity and Reconciliation Commission |
Centre for Conflict Management |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation |
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