Rwanda will work with OIF to boost the teaching of French.
International Francophonie Organization (OIF), an international organization that represents French speaking countries, has entered a partnership with the Rwandan government to promote French language proficiency, through importing foreign French teachers.
For the first phase, OIF offered 30 foreign French teachers to teach in primary and secondary schools and improve local teacher’s French language proficiency through trainings across the country.
Foreign French teachers who came from OIF member countries including Cameroon, Democratic republic of Congo (DRC) and Senegal, among others were presented to the media in Kigali city on Tuesday October 13, 2020.
According to the Ministry of Education, this will be the first batch of foreign French teachers to arrive in the country, but more will come.
“This is the partnership between Rwanda and OIF to mobilize for the improvement of French speaking in the country.
These teachers will help in improving French proficiency to teachers, students and people in the community through training; we want French to be among highly spoken languages,” Gaspard Twagirayezu, State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary schools said.
Without mentioning the cost of importing foreign French teachers, Twagirayezu said “They will be coming in phases, the first phase thirty are already here. Details on phase two will come later. Foreign French teachers will be placed depending on the numbers that will be coming on each phase.”
Twagirayezu added that “Rwanda has local competent teachers, but who need more skills in French language, Foreign French teachers will help us to achieve more skills. We need more effort in French language, and it will be taught and examined.”
In 2008 English language replaced French as the medium of instruction in schools from primary four before Rwanda joining the Anglophone East African Community in 2009.
On October 12, 2018 the Secretary General of the OIF, Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo was elected by heads of state and government of OIF member countries in Yerevan, Armenia.
She was backed by most of the African Union and the trust of several states including France, Mushikiwabo campaigned on ideals of prioritizing peace, security and promotion of the youth among others.
