Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Minister Irere Claudette, has stated that greater efforts should be made in teaching international languages such as English and French, as well as science subjects, as students are failing them at a high rate.
In Rwanda, there has been a growing concern over student’s poor performance in international languages and science subjects, with statistics showing that students who take exams in French, English, and science subjects are failing at an alarming rates.
This high failure rate indicates that improvements are needed in the teaching methods to enable the country to compete at an international level.
Minister IRERE Claudette emphasized the need to focus more on teaching international languages like English and French, as well as science subjects. She stated, “French language is not performing well, and you remember that Rwanda aims to engage with foreign countries.
We won’t be able to engage with the world speaking only Kinyarwanda, we will engage with the world speaking languages.” She made these comments during the celebrations for the International Teachers' Day on December 13.
In the 2023/2024 national exams, the data shows that primary school students passed English at a rate of 25.2%, with a passing rate of 22.3% in French. In secondary education, students passed English at a rate of 52.1%, but only 38.8% passed science subjects, including Physics, which had a passing rate as low as 8.1%. Additionally, English-based literature was passed at a rate of 55.2%.
The issue of students failing science and language subjects is concerning, and Minister IRERE emphasized that changes in the way these languages are taught are necessary, as Rwanda needs to compete in the global job market. Languages such as English and French are crucial for engaging in business, international cooperation, and conducting international research.
Writter: KUBWIMANA Solange
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