Poor school management and ill-equipped teachers have been blamed for the government’s new smart-classroom programme stalling.

Several of the information, communication and technology equipment supplied to facilitate the project is yet to be used, Rwanda Today has learnt.

The revelation was made during the ongoing government campaign on quality of education around the country.

During an inspection of school facilities, officials from the Ministry of Education discovered that some smart classrooms were poorly set up while some machines were still stored badly in boxes.

So far, the government has deployed 65,000 computers from Positivo BGH — a global manufacturer and distributor of PCs — to 600 schools at a cost of Rwf170,000 each.

The government also gives each school Rwf120,000 per year for Internet costs. The plan is to have these computers in all public and private schools countrywide.

Partnership

The Ministry of Education entered into a partnership with Microsoft Corporation in 2014 to promote access and the use of ICT in education. The goal is to equip students with basic computer skills.

However, Rwanda Today has learnt that despite millions of dollars being spent on the project, some schools that were supplied with the equipment have failed to make use of them partly because of unskilled teachers.

For instance, Groupe Scolaire Rambura, a reputable girls’ boarding high school in Nyabihu district, is one of the schools whose smart-classrooms were found to be idle and in deteriorating condition.

“We have been using these computers only when we are teaching ICT, we are yet to fully apply them in other courses as well like, mathematics, biology, chemistry and others,” said Theogene Ndacyayisenga, an ICT teacher at the school.

Groupe Scolaire Rambura’s headteacher Marie Goretti Nyinawamuntu said that while there is a need for projectors to facilitate smart learning, some teachers have been resisting integrating ICT in teaching their subjects because they lack IT skills.

Rarely used

“Some of the teachers who were trained on how to integrate ICT in teaching subjects like maths, physics and chemistry are unable to apply the skills,” said MsNyinawamuntu.

According to Seth Buhigiro, director of the connectivity and network development unit at Rwanda Education Board, the smart classes were rarely used; teachers did not understand the purpose of master classrooms and some head teachers were facing administrative sanctions including dismissals.

“We found that there is little understanding of the intention and expectations of this programme; materials are availabe but are not being used; many schools are using smart classrooms to only teach students basic ICT skills and the classes are not able to accomodate the number of students,” said Mr Buhigiro.

“It seems like teachers do not want to integrate ICT in teaching other subjects and neither do their bosses, but they should be aware about the upcoming sanctions,” he added.

Mr Buhigiro said the education ministry informed all districts to confiscate devices that are not utilised by beneficiary schools and give them to schools that are committed to make use of them. There will also be sanctions on headteachers who fail to implement the order.

Another factor hindering the implementation of the smart classroom programme is lack of electricity and Internet connections in some schools.