Kigali- 06th November 2019 – The Teaching Assistants did not only inspire our students but the whole school community. They worked directly with host and other teachers which has really left a difference at our school and so we would like to ask for more Teaching Assistants come next year- said Mr. Nahimana Didier, the Director of Studies at Groupe Scolaire Camp Kigali in Nyarugenge district, Kigali while addressing stakeholders at a Teaching Assistants Commissioning event which took place on 3rd November 2019.
During 2019, Inspire, Educate and Empower Rwanda (IEE) has piloted the Teaching Assistantships Project, which is funded by Mastercard Foundation in contribution to the “Recruit” pillar of the Leaders in Teaching (LIT) initiative, Mastercard Foundation’s comprehensive programme supporting education in Rwanda. The project provides opportunities for one hundred and fifty bright young women who have completed secondary education, with an interest in teaching and education, to gain experience in the teaching profession as Teaching Assistants in seventy-three secondary schools in fifteen districts. For six months, the Teaching Assistants are provided with opportunities to support teaching and learning of mathematics and science subjects alongside qualified teachers, with technical support of Teaching Assistantship Mentors. It is hoped that the Teaching Assistants develop a passion for education as a career pathway or area of further academic study, having also provided additional support to teachers during their tenures.
Groupe Scolaire Camp Kigali, a comprehensive secondary school in the outskirts of Kigali has been of the pilot schools, hosting three Teaching Assistants: Teta Mugabo Ange Nicole, Mumporeze Rusanganwa Adelaide and Nyiranshimiyamana Faridah. Over the six-months course of their teaching assistantships, these young women have collaborated with host teachers to support teaching and learning of Geography, Biology and Mathematics in Senior three respectively.
As the overall in-charge of teaching and learning at Groupe Scolaire Camp Kigali, Didier has been supporting the young women, in coordination with his teachers. It is no doubt that Didier has been convinced of the need for role model exposure for the young women, due to his involvement in IEE-organized trainings for stakeholders on the project.
IEE hosted a commissioning event to mark the end of teaching assistantships and transition of the young women from teaching assistantships to tertiary studies. IEE invited a range of stakeholders including Rwanda Education Board, Mastercard Foundation and other education stakeholders including school stakeholders. As he addressed the audience at the commissioning event, Didier expressed his experience with Teaching Assistants:
The Teaching Assistants worked with us on a number of projects like working with teachers on lesson planning and sharing experiences through constructive feedback. They increased the level of English language use at school and participated in so many school activities like debating and environmental clubs and this has really left a difference– he said.
From Didier’s speech, it has been evident that the Teaching Assistants have left an educational legacy by inspiring learners. Testimonies from Teaching Assistants revealed benefits of improved self-confidence, teaching skills, and career focus among others. The major aim of the Teaching Assistantships Project is to supporting skill-nurturing, to attract passionate, young women with an interest in education to join the teaching profession to complement ambitions of the Ministry of Education in Rwanda, to nurture a teaching force, particularly for Science, Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM), during the current Education Sector Strategic Plan period of 2018/19- 2014/25.