The Independent
Friday, 14 October 2011
Alphonse Byishimo asks me to speak slower. His English is not fluent and it takes him time to process the words. His answers, when they finally come, are delivered in a slow drawl, followed with a shy smile and a shrug of the shoulders. At 27, he is in the final year of his undergraduate law degree – one that is being taught in English.
“I studied in Kinyarwanda and French all though primary and secondary and only used English in 2009 during my second year of law,” he explains. “I didn’t know too much English, but I had made efforts to teach myself by reading newspapers in English, then asking someone what the words meant.”
His efforts, it seems, paid off when he was confronted with the fact that he had to suddenly attend lessons, read books and take lessons in English.
In October 2008, the Rwandan government, in line with its goal of achieving universal primary education by 2010 and education for all by 2015, made English the mandatory language of instruction from primary school to university. The new direction took shape in all levels of education, directly affecting students like Byishimo and many others.
The mandate looked to a bigger picture where the command of English would enable Rwanda to become a major economic player, not only in Africa, but the world over. This came shortly after Rwanda joined the East African Community and before the country became a member of the British Commonwealth in November 2009.
Although predominantly Francophone since the language’s infiltration in the colonial 1920s, Rwanda embarked upon the path of embracing an English-speaking culture long before the decision was made to take it up in schools. This change became more pronounced after the 1994 genocide with the return of many former refugees from Anglophone countries. However, to date, English still accounts for a minority of the population.
Ugandan teacher and education columnist Allan Brian Ssenyonga moved to Rwanda in 2005 and remembers the country as predominantly Francophone. “Back then schools were teaching in French, save for a few in Kigali, and even fewer in the Eastern province which had a section for Anglophones,” he recalls. “In Alliance High School, Nyacyonga, where I was teaching, 70 percent of the students were enrolled in the Francophone system.”
Kagarama Senior School, which opened in 1995, was one of the few schools put in place to cater for the needs of students who “didn’t speak French but had returned home,” explains Kagarama Headmaster Sam Nkurunziza.
Prior to October 2008, the first three years of primary school in Rwanda were conducted in Kinyarwanda, after which pupils chose whether to continue their education in English or French.
Ironically, a year prior, neighbouring country Uganda put in place an education language policy stipulating that the mother tongue be used as a medium of instruction in education up to primary grade three. This followed a 2004 report on the review of primary curriculum, which noted that, “generally children learn faster if early education is conducted in a familiar language.”
The policy – which has also been adopted in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe – is believed to promote comprehension, accuracy of expression, and increased appreciation of culture, which is important for one’s identity.
Some have defended Rwanda’s decision to do otherwise by saying that bilingualism will provide the new generation with an added advantage. Although a considerable proportion of the population is utilising English more and more, French remains one of the official languages in the country, and schools still include it as a subject.
However, one element the shift apparently did not sufficiently address was that the majority of teachers themselves did not speak English. Although the ministry of education established a Rwanda English Action Program (REAP) and the Teacher Service Commission (TSC), created a five-week training course in November 2010, which targeted 50,000 teachers countrywide, the programs, in many cases, proved inadequate.
According to Ssenyonga it was too overwhelming to transform the over 90 percent French-speaking teachers into competent users, let alone English instructors, in such a short time.
“Some of these teachers have left the profession in favour of other alternatives after figuring that it’s a little late to learn a new language,” he says. “A few have managed to learn the language but in my view, not to a competent level, only a functional level. The change also accelerated the move of Ugandan and Kenyan teachers to Rwanda, which may make some Rwandan teachers feel like their jobs are being taken by foreigners, despite Rwanda’s pro-EAC labour policies.”
Lecturer and attorney at Kigali Bar Association, Fidele Ngenda, agrees with the bilingual benefits, although he says almost 30 percent of teachers have had to change professions since the shift was made. Ngenda says that despite the continuous training, in addition to numerous visits to universities and seminars in other countries like Kenya and Uganda, some teachers still did not feel confident enough to teach in English.
Ngenda adds that the change, however difficult for teachers, was even more cumbersome for the students. “Many books are still written in French for instance,” he explains. “In some courses, especially the faculty of law, a lot more changed; French countries use civil law while English speaking ones rely on common law and we have had to adopt both aspects, although in the long run it will only be common law.”
With over 60 percent of students more eloquent in French, Ngenda says it is still a challenge to adapt appropriately. “Students have to write exams in English, which is hard, but made even more difficult by the fact that some teachers have problems translating papers in English.”
He suggests that students should at least be given two more years to grasp the language. “We have been lenient with students providing them the option of writing their dissertation in French since it’s a crucial part of the course, but I think this is the last year that exception is being made.”
Alain Gategabondo, a recent university graduate who now works at BCR in Kigali, concurs that the implementation of the English curriculum was done too suddenly. “I do not agree with the way it was done and think the best option would have been to approach it at a slower pace while maintaining the two languages,” he says. “For instance in class the handouts were in English and the explanations remained in Kinyarwanda or French which made the lessons difficult.”
Gategabando thinks that although English is growing more popular among young people, it is four or five years too early to measure the effectiveness of the new system.
But Ngenda, who dedicated four months to perfect his English with training, reading newspapers and watching English television programs, says he has already noticed that some students who had excelled when classes were taken in French have fallen back in the new system.
Such statements were dismissed early last year by the former Minister of Education Dr Charles Murigande. According to the minister, there is always some difficulty that accompanies change but, “there is great enthusiasm from the teachers, students, parents and the general community,” to learn English, he said.
“Although [teachers] haven’t mastered English to the level we wish them to,” the minister added, “they are nevertheless able to teach and this is evidenced in the results of national exams.”
Since July 2009, the government – with the help of a Rwf2.6 billion donation from the British government – opened two more Teacher Training Centres, which are expected to result in up to 1,400 new teachers being appropriately trained by next year.
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