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Mr. Rémy Rioux, Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo and Ms. Valentine Uwamariya, sign a Declaration of Intent on the teaching of French in Rwanda
© AFD
On May 27, in the context of the visit of the President of the French Republic to Rwanda, Mr. Rémy Rioux, Director General of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, Francophonie Secretary General, signed with Ms. Valentine Uwamariya, Minister of Education of Rwanda, a Declaration of Intent on the teaching of French in Rwanda.

With this declaration, the Ministry of Education, IOF and AFD confirm their willingness to support together the Rwandan National Plan for the Teaching of French, currently being developed, with the aim in particular of improving the quality of teaching and learning in basic education, higher education and vocational training, and thus facilitating the professional integration of young Rwandans.   

The plan will address some sectoral priorities, such as the professional development of teachers, the teaching of science and technology and the use of ICT to support the quality of education, as well as the strengthening of access, equity and relevance of programs, all of which are challenges to which teaching in French can respond.    

In Rwanda, a member country of the Francophonie, the revitalization of French language teaching has several advantages. It is a factor in strengthening educational exchanges linked to employment in the region, a lever for strengthening the quality of education, for initiating innovative approaches and for providing technical support for the training of teachers and teaching materials, but also an asset for the social integration of students and their insertion into formal employment. Many companies are indeed looking for French-speaking collaborators to facilitate their development in the region. 

In 2020, the OIF signed a partnership agreement with the Rwandan Ministry of Education, and then started a volunteer teacher mobility project that aims to improve the quality of education in French and the teaching of French language, by deploying about thirty teachers on the Rwandan territory.

AFD is currently already supporting the development of the French Education Plan by financing a study to assess the situation and the place of the French language in education in Rwanda and to support the Ministry of Education in the development of the plan itself, alongside the OIF.