10.08.2013 Views

Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Executive Summary<br />

Rwanda has been a beacon <strong>of</strong> hope for many in Africa, largely because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> contribution <strong>of</strong> its dynamic and<br />

visionary leadership in reconstructing Rwanda from <strong>the</strong> devastation caused by <strong>the</strong> 1994 genocide. Indeed, since<br />

1994, Rwanda is on track to achieve its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on universal primary <strong>education</strong><br />

(MDG 1), on gender equality (MDG 3) as well as <strong>the</strong> targets for HIV and AIDS, Malaria and related diseases (MDG<br />

6). Rwanda has also experienced signifi cant economic growth over <strong>the</strong> past decade and has shown improvement in<br />

its Human Development Index (HDI) over <strong>the</strong> same period. However, by many indicators, Rwanda remains a poor<br />

country whose economy is still predominantly based on subsistence agriculture. MDG 1 on poverty and hunger,<br />

and MDGs 4 and 5 on child and maternal mortality, respectively, are unlikely to be achieved without a considerably<br />

scaled-up effort and Rwanda still has among <strong>the</strong> largest orphan populations in <strong>the</strong> world (UNDP, 2007).<br />

The Government <strong>of</strong> Rwanda (GoR) has adopted a host <strong>of</strong> interrelated <strong>policies</strong> to transform <strong>the</strong> country into a middle<br />

income knowledge-based economy as stated in its overarching Vision 2020 policy. Integral to Vision 2020 is <strong>the</strong><br />

contribution <strong>of</strong> information and communication technologies (<strong>ICT</strong>) towards Rwanda’s socio-economic development<br />

including <strong>the</strong> transformation <strong>of</strong> its <strong>education</strong> sector. Science, Technology and <strong>ICT</strong> are considered as cross-cutting<br />

issues across six major pillars, one <strong>of</strong> which includes Human Resource Development and a Knowledge-based<br />

Economy.<br />

Interconnected with Vision 2020, <strong>the</strong> GoR has also adopted a National Information and Communication Infrastructure<br />

Plan since 2002 which is its most comprehensive policy framework on <strong>ICT</strong> and development for Rwanda; as well<br />

as an Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) which is <strong>the</strong> country’s broader <strong>education</strong> policy framework that is<br />

strongly informed by <strong>the</strong> Education for All (EFA) goals. A central feature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ESSP is <strong>the</strong> GoR’s goal to achieve<br />

fee-free <strong>education</strong> for <strong>the</strong> fi rst nine years <strong>of</strong> schooling, in line with <strong>the</strong> EFA. Against this backdrop a draft <strong>ICT</strong> in<br />

Education Policy (hereafter <strong>the</strong> Policy) and related Costed Strategic Implementation Plan for <strong>ICT</strong> in Education<br />

(hereafter Implementation Plan) have been developed by <strong>the</strong> GoR. The latter is focused on developing an <strong>education</strong><br />

system enabled by <strong>ICT</strong>, which will harness learning, teaching and skill development for an envisaged knowledgebased<br />

labour market.<br />

Abbreviations and Acronyms<br />

EAC East African Community<br />

EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy<br />

EMIS Education Management Information System<br />

ESSP Education Sector Strategic Plan<br />

GOR Government <strong>of</strong> Rwanda<br />

HDI Human Development Index<br />

HIV Human Immunodefi ciency Virus<br />

<strong>ICT</strong>s Information and Communication Technologies<br />

ITU International Telecommunications Union<br />

LFA Logical Framework Approach<br />

LTSFF Long Term Strategy and Financing Framework<br />

MDG Millennium Development Goals<br />

MINEDUC Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education<br />

NICI National Information and Communication Infrastructure<br />

RDB-IT Rwanda Development Board – Information Technology<br />

RITA Rwanda Information Technology Agency<br />

RURA Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency<br />

UNDP United Nations Development Program<br />

UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa<br />

168 | <strong>Transforming</strong> Education: The Power <strong>of</strong> <strong>ICT</strong> Policies

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!