Gatsibo TVET
Education officials are working behind the clock in providing computers and internet to Technical and Vocational Education Training centers (TVET).
The equipment will enable schools to shift to blended learning where digital materials will help trainers to visualize the content for trainees to seamlessly comprehend.
The Ministry of education is looking forward to disseminating computers and internet in 60% of Rwandan TVET schools this year against the current rate of 53%.
This achievement will be driven by among others, efforts of partners who designed successful projects like Building Resilience in TVET Through E-Learning commonly known to its acronym – BRITE.
BRITE is a project implemented by Education Development Center (EDC) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
The Minister of State in charge of TVET at Ministry of Education Claudette Irere on Wednesday, March 23 said that BRITE has managed to digitize the content leaving to the government the duty of providing computers and internet infrastructure.
In her visit to Gatsibo TVET in Gatsibo district-Eastern Province to see the readiness of schools to embrace this technology in school, Irere said that BRITE started last year outside the class and she wanted to see how it works in academia and how they can enroll it in all programs holistically.
She pledged government support to provide all necessary tools to have it work properly.
“It’s our duty as government to provide computers and internet. We have been working on it and we shall not relent,” Irere said.
“We expect to equip 60% of the TVET schools,” Irere said.
Minister Irere Claudette
The Mastercard Foundation. The latter is thankful that the project is yielding fruits.
Ruth Mukakimenyi, Program Partner in Charge of the Leaders In Teaching initiative at the Mastercard Foundation reminds that the project started during the COVID-19 pandemic and was useful at a time physical classes were closed.
She said that she is glad to see students appreciate the content a content they can use while at school and at home.
“Students will not only have content at hand, but also be able to develop their critical thinking and improve their creativity,” Mukakimenyi said.
TVET Gatsibo has got only 50 computers that serve 388 students, thus the school request to have more computers.
Digital learning is particularly vital at this school which has programs of electricity, road engineering, Construction and Land Survey.
According to Yedidiya Senzeyi Aimee, Deputy Chief of Party BRITE, the e-learning is not coming to replace the face to face learning, it’s rather coming to reinforce what is already in place.
“We are actually heading to blended learning. Blended learning has proven to be successful for both the trainees and the trainers,” she said.
There are some content that are hard for trainers to teach to explain to the students if they can’t see how it works. There, technology comes to fill that gap,” said Alejandra Bonifaz, EDC Chief of Party and Country Director.
Trainees on their side have started feeling the difference.
“With this technology, we combine theory and practice. It is easier when the teacher says something and then shows it. Review of courses is also made easier,” says Ongara Steven from Level 4, Electricity at Gatsibo TVET.
