It was noted by many researchers in the education sector that nothing helps to effectively acknowledge what someone already knows and realize how well-versed they are on certain topics like sharing does. Sharing their expertise means having new conversations that open up what they have learnt to a new perspective, helping them and others to grow. Sharing good practice builds a teacher reputation as a leader in your school and increases their professional value rather than telling people they’re expert, sharing lets other teachers discover it for themselves in a way that helps them to raise their own level of expertise.  

In that above spirit of teachers knowledge sharing , on Sunday 21 September 2021, Director General of Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) closed the workshop of a return day organized by VVOB and University of Rwanda College of Education for cohort 2 and 3  which took place from  20^th and 21 ^st November, 2021. The main purpose of the workshop was the  peer learning among educationists  and presentation of the Most Significant Change stories.

More than 2,000 educationists (Head-Teachers and Deputy Head-Teachers for primary and Secondary education, School Based Mentors (SBMs), School Subject Leaders (SSLs), TTC Tutors, District Director of Education , District Education Officer, and Sector Education Inspectors (SEIs) attended the training.

This programme focuses on advancing the implementation of the Competence Based Curriculum while supporting the improvement of learning outcomes in Mathematics and STEM in a gender responsive environment. This programme is being implemented in primary schools in 6 districts and in secondary schools in 14 Districts.

In his remarks, Director General of Rwanda Basic Education Board , Dr. Nelson MBARUSHIMANA appreciated the usefulness of the workshop but also encouraged the integration of ICT in education hence it is one of the triggers to hit the target of desired quality education, “Technology-enhanced learning has the potential to increase effectiveness and efficiency of Continuous Professional Development opportunities for teachers and school leaders. ICT has been adopted as one of the strategic ways for addressing the key challenges of access, quality, equity, relevance and management.

He also noted that trainings are necessary for any educationist, like they way it was mentioned by many researchers that personalized education is well, not rocket science.  it is much more complicated. And the training for the teachers must be such that it makes the lives of students easier and learning effective. Teaching is an important process, but teacher is the fundamental element in this process and it is always the method which determines the output of the system.

“Engaging in Continuous Professional Development ensures that both academic and qualifications do not become outdated. It allows individuals to continually ‘up skill’ or ‘re-skill’ regardless of their occupation, age or educational level.  This workshop is an opportunity for us to share best practices and challenges where possible in relation to the implementation of the skills learned during the CPD trainings.” He said

Director General of Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), Dr. Nelson MBARUSHIMANA emphasizes the remarkable contribution of CPD, therefore there was a need to reflect the impact of what acquired in the previous trainings. “It is also an occasion to showcase the impact of the programme through the Most Significant Best Stories of Change. It will inform us all of what is on ground and the thoughts will be based on to have the necessary interventions for successful implementation of continued CPDs.”