Rwanda Education Board Approves over 80 Kinyarwanda stories for publication

Through Andika Rwanda competition initiative, the Rwanda Education Board (REB) has approved more than 80 Kinyarwanda stories written by primary and secondary school students for Publication.

Andika Rwanda is a writing competition that started in 2014 aiming at generating Kinyarwanda stories and poems written by Rwandan students for Rwandan young learners of PI to P3 to raise the national profile of children’s literacy.

Andika Rwanda is implemented by USAID funded Soma Umenye project and the Rwanda Education Board.

The participants are primary and secondary school students from public and government-aided schoolsfrom 30 districts, as well as student teachers from 16 teacher training colleges (TTCs) around the country.

Participants wrote stories and poems in Kinyarwanda for P1-P3 students. To date, Andika Rwanda has generated more than 80 titles approved by REB to be published.

Speaking at the event during which winners of the 2019 version were announced, on 21 June 2019, the Deputy Director General of Rwanda Education Board, Angelique Tusiime, said the competitions are there to encourage the culture of reading among children at the early age.

“And by now the initiative is growing and fruitful as the best stories will be part of textbooks of young children to be used in schools,” she noted

“What we can tell the general public is that the importance of the initiative is remarkable in schools whereby children themselves can write good stories to be used in school books.” Tusiime said.

Rwanda has made primary education a priority investment in its vision 2020 and 2050 plans to meet ambitious goals for economic growth and development. The skills in reading and writing in early age, makes the foundation of this development.

“USAID Rwanda and the US government partner with Rwanda through Rwanda Education Board to ensure all Rwandan children learn to read and love reading in the early years of education, according to Luann Gronhovd, the Education Officer Director of USAID Rwanda.

“It is a pleasure to be part of this initiative where we work together with the Ministry of Education to support early education specifically reading in Kinyarwanda. As Rwanda has a plan to grow knowledge based economy, we have no time to lose and no generation of young Rwandans to lose.” She said.

Through Soma Umenye project, USAID provides a package of activities to P1 to P3 classrooms across the country even pre-primary classrooms working together with parents and community leaders to ensure something is done to help young Rwandans.