Kigali, Wednesday 25^th April 2019: The Minister of Education Dr. Eugene Mutimura together with the Minister of State Dr. Isaac Munyakazi, Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education held a meeting with Vice Chancellors of all Higher learning Institutions and Principals of all Teacher Training Colleges that train future teacher for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary schools.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss challenges faced in pre-service teacher development and recommit to working together toward devising solutions to the existing challenges.

Meeting discussions centered on the Pre-Service Teacher Development Status and Challenges, with emphasis on Pedagogical Skills or Teaching and Learning Methods aligned to Competence-Based Curriculum for Teacher Training Colleges.

In his opening remarks, the Minister of Education Dr. Eugene Mutimura, thanked  the participants for the work they are doing to train teachers to be, and cited some of existing achievements, mainly existence of the Competence-Based Curriculum for Teacher Training Colleges since 2016; the recent approved Education Sector strategies to promote quality education ( 10% salary increment for primary and secondary teachers, Career path advancement, Strengthening Teacher Training Colleges and Demonstration Schools, Comprehensive assessment, Standardized English language test, Teacher management).

It was noted that, despite these efforts, the teaching profession still has some persistent challenges which require practical interventions. “Strengthening pre-service teacher training programs, directly results in higher quality teaching and learning in Rwandan schools and is therefore a priority of the Ministry of Education” The Minister emphasized.

The Minister of Education further recalled the noble role of partners in pre-service teacher training to ensure the high-quality of education required to produce the professionally skilled teachers needed in schools. Some of areas that have been identified as evident gaps in pre-service graduates recruited to the teaching profession include: ICT literacy; English proficiency; Preparation of pedagogical documents (e.g. lesson plans, scheme of work); Professional ethics; Lack of concern for learners; Limited subject knowledge and limited hands-on/practical skills; Poor research skills etc.

After discussions, participants of the meeting identified together challenges hindering the provision of high-quality pre-service teacher development; shared best practices for pre-service teacher development identified across institutions and reached a consensus on strategies to improve the provision of pre-service teacher development.

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