“A Game-Changer”: ProFuturo Coaches Lead Digital Education Revolution in Rwanda

By Ange de la Victoire DUSABEMUNGU

KIGALI, Rwanda – The ProFuturo Digital Education Program is making significant strides in transforming education in Rwanda, empowering teachers with digital skills and providing students with access to quality learning materials.

Interviews with coaches revealed a common initial hurdle: teachers unfamiliar with ICT tools. Gisele Umugwaneza, a ProFuturo coach coordinating five private schools in Kigali, explained, “When we started the project, it was not easy…training teachers was very difficult for the starting days because they did not understand what the ProFuturo program will bring to them.”

To address this, coaches like Umugwaneza implemented personalized communication strategies. “We start communicating with them…we make a conversation with them teacher by teacher. And even the headteachers. We ask them to help us, encourage their teachers so that they will be involved in the program,” she said.

Gisele Umugwaneza, a ProFuturo coach coordinating five private schools in Kigali

The program’s impact is now evident. Umugwaneza noted that teachers are now more motivated and capable of independently preparing students to use the digital tools. “Students are familiar with the tablet, how to navigate from one point to another. And even they can distribute them, even if the teacher is not there.” She recounted a success story of students using the tablets to continue learning during a teacher’s absence, demonstrating the program’s contribution to continuous education.

Coach Kwizera echoed these sentiments, highlighting the initial challenges of memorizing the platforms and training teachers new to technology. He emphasized the importance of step-by-step training, both individually and in groups, to ensure teachers could effectively integrate the tools into their classrooms.

The successes are manifold. “Some schools we started with, they have gained students. For instance, some students were dropped out before, they came back. Simply, I want to say that it reduces school dropout,” Kwizera stated. He also noted improved student performance resulting from the combination of traditional curriculum and ProFuturo technologies.

Micomyiza Sylvie, a ProFuturo coach shared a success story linking the program to improved exam results. “There is one school, we started using Kinyarwanda in the platform and in the national exams, that school, many students have succeeded Kinyarwanda.”

She also affirmed the program’s role in reducing student dropout rates and fostering positive relationships between teachers, students, and ProFuturo staff.

Agathe Kandema, a coach for six schools, highlighted the program’s contribution to inclusivity and access to learning resources. “The best of ProFuturo is that those students from the poor families, they have access to the content as the same level of the students from the noble families.”

The coaches also offered suggestions for improvement. Umugwaneza emphasized the need for increased motivation for leading teachers and additional learning materials to accommodate larger class sizes.

Agathe Kandema, a coach for six schools

Looking ahead, the ProFuturo coaches are committed to leveraging their acquired skills to continue transforming education in Rwanda. By empowering teachers with digital literacy and providing students with access to quality digital resources, the program is helping to bridge the education gap and contribute to Rwanda’s economic growth.

Umugwaneza explained how the program contributes to the country’s economic growth by enabling teachers to create digital notes. She noted that, “It can also help in our environment…those chalkboards, the dust, it is not good. So, it is helping both in our health and the economy of our country.”

Mr. Dominique Uwarugira, ProFuturo Project Coordinator, emphasized the program’s widespread reach and impact.

“So far we have 42 schools under the supervision of the Salesians of Don Bosco…All these schools are motivated with activities or projects, committed and wish to reach far to change the education of Rwanda towards digital education.”

He expressed optimism about the program’s future, noting, “We hope that with the encouragement of teachers, with also the expertise of our coaches, we hope to reach very far during our exercise of our daily activity…and change the education of Rwanda to be more better than the previous time.”

Mr. Dominique Uwarugira, ProFuturo Project Coordinator

Reflecting on past achievements, Uwarugira highlighted the program’s success in training teachers and students to use digital tools. “We can be happy to see the Rwandan children are now able to use digital tools in their studies. So we can say in general, it is a step, it is a very good step in terms of the use of technology.”

 He added that ProFuturo serves as a valuable addition to existing ICT tools in schools, citing survey data demonstrating its positive impact on the use of technology in Rwandan schools.