[Francophones] Je transfère cet article tel qu'il est en Anglais publié par un quotidien de Kigali "New Times".

Bishop Venuste Mutiganda audivia2002 at yahoo.fr
Mer 15 Oct 10:54:52 GMT 2008


Wednesday, 15th October 2008
    
      
        
        

        

        

        
      
    
  
  
    Kagame reiterates need to use English as education medium
  
  
    

	
    President
Kagame chats with school children during a visit to Ecole Primaire
d’Application de Kimihurura (EPAK), in Kigali yesterday. (Photo/PPU)	
	 
  
  
    BY FELLY KIMENYI
  
  
    •Pupils demand for Laptops GASABO - President
Paul Kagame yesterday stressed the urgency in the process of using
English as a medium of education in all Rwandan schools, saying it is a
choice Rwandans have to make if they need development. He said
this while visiting Ecole Primaire d’Application de Kimihurura (EPAK),
a primary school located in Kimihurura, Gasabo District. “The
kind of education we want for our children is that which is in line
with the vision in place for the development of our country…we have to
prioritise the language that will make them competent when they get on
the labour market after completing school,” the President said while
meeting the teaching staff of the school. He said that it is
better to use a language that is widely spoken across the globe as
Rwanda tries to reach as many countries for business opportunities. “For
example, in our region apart from Burundi and the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), a French speaker going to the other countries would
have to use the services of an interpreter,” he said. He added
that even in Europe, of the more than 20 States that make up the
continent, there are not more than three where the French language is
spoken.  “In the rest of the countries, no one will have time for you if you speak French,” Kagame pointed out. A
cabinet meeting last week directed the Ministry of Education to
expedite the programme that will make English the medium of education
in all government-funded schools right from primary level to
institutions of higher learning. According to minutes of the
meeting, the major reason for this is to make Rwanda more competitive
in both the East African Community and the International Community at
large. “We have to make a choice on language depending on which
languages the countries we stand to benefit from most use,” said
Kagame.  The President also emphasized that the major reason is
not to just master the English language but the knowledge to be gained
in other disciplines like sciences. “It is not just the
languages that will develop this country but the knowledge we get using
these languages…emphasis should be put on science subjects like
mathematics,” he told the teachers. He urged the teachers to always emphasise discipline in their pupils saying that knowledge without discipline is useless.  During
his visit to the school which has 695 students, the President conducted
a class-to-class tour and interacted with pupils from primary one to
six. According to the headmistress, Dancille Mukacyemayire, , EPAK has
a teaching staff of 15. The President lectured the pupils on
discipline and being patriotic and working hard in class to become
responsible future citizens and leaders. The children had time to list out their problems the most  prominent being the acquisition of laptops to help them in school. After
a series of similar requests from the school children, the President
suggested that a temporary measure be taken before the school benefits
from the countrywide One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme. “Let
them first get demonstration PCs at least one per class as they wait to
benefit from the one laptop per child programme,” the President
instructed Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, the State Minister for Primary and
Secondary Education. Other problems that were raised by the
pupils included the lack of an equipped library that has English books
which would help them adapt to the language faster. Ends


      
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