Vision 2020
Rwanda Vision 2020 aims at moving Rwanda from “an agriculture based economy to a
knowledge-based society “and middle-income country 2020. Education is a key sector
to this social and economic transformation, tapping into the limitless potential of an
empowered population. At the same time, the Vision 2020 places ICTs at the heart of the
transformation across all sectors. The use of ICT in education is seen as a strategic lever
for achieving this transformation. This policy complements the overall “SMART
RWANDA” Strategy, it implements the SMART EDUCATION policy.
The Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) calls for 3 strategic goals to be addressed for
education to fulfill its potential in the development of Rwanda.
To expand access to education at all levels:
To improve the quality of education and training:
To strengthen the relevance of education and training to the labor market
including the insertion of 21st century skills
Technology in education can be used to achieve these goals and address the key
challenges of access, quality, equity, relevance and management efficiency with tangible
advantages that can be seen and measured in numerous ways.
At primary and secondary levels, gross enrolments ratios are growing and more
children are in school. However, the number of trained teachers to sustain these
enrolment ratios is still low. At higher education levels, the levels of enrolment are still
very low. Here technology to support Open and Distance Learning (ODeL) can play a
critical role train new teachers, up-skill existing unqualified teachers and increase
access to tertiary education.
While more children are enrolled in basic education, the key challenge remains the
quality of education they are getting. Here technology can be used to improve the
quality of teaching and learning materials through the use of digital learning resources.
Multimedia interactive digital content can be used to motivate students, improve
conceptual understanding and retention of key topics. ICTs can help simplify the use of
regular assessments to keep track of student performance. ICTs can help with real time
data gathering of enrolment, assessments, performance to improve decision making and
effective management of the education sector leading to informed prioritization and
allocation of resources. ICTs can also be used to strengthen teacher professional
development thereby contributing to the improvement of quality of education.
Lastly, students must be prepared for the 21st century and given abilities needed to
succeed and thrive in today’s complex, technology-based global economy, and to be
active 21st century global citizens. Some of these skills include Critical Thinking,
Problem Solving, Communication, Collaboration and Visualization. Technology in
education enables the development of these important skills.
Since 2008, MINEDUC has implemented the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program at
primary schools and computer labs for secondary schools.