Rwanda Country programme 2009

Achievements, Challenges & Lessons Learned

M K Senthil Kumar

8th Feb 2010

GeSCI – MINEDUC Partnership

• Request from Rwanda team during WSIS 2005 at Tunis

• Due diligence by GeSCI during 2006

• The First MoU signed on 20th March 07 for 18 months

• Follow up visit by Min of S & T to Dublin office – Feb 08

• CPF started work in Rwanda starting April 14, 08

• The revised MoU signed on 27th Nov 2008 – Valid till

March 31, 10

Agreed deliverables from GeSCI

• Appoint a full-time Country Programme Facilitator (CPF)

• Assist the MINEDUC in convening all key stakeholders

• Facilitate the MINEDUC in creating ICT in Education policy

• Implementation Plan for ICT in Education with end to end

components including e-waste disposal & resource

requirements

• Build capacity among Teacher Trainers for ICT based

Teaching &

Learning

• Assist MINEDUC to acquire / purchase e-Learning content

and

enable appropriate partners for Rwanda specific

contextualization

• Build capacity among NCDC on e-content development

process,

costing estimation, project plan and framework for

evaluation

Contd…

• Advise MINEDUC in developing the feasibility study and

guiding

them to set up of Open Distance Learning Program

• Assist MINEDUC program manager on quality checks of

EMIS

• Assist MINEDUC to develop Monitoring & Evaluation

frame work

• Organize need based exposure visits for the MINEDUC

officials

• Provide access to GeSCI’s Education, ICT and e-Learning

Specialists to gather knowledge to assist in the planning

process

• Facilitate and enable links with Foundations, global

private sector

firms which could lead to funding or contribution of

resource

Agreed deliverables from GeSCI

Facilitate / Guide / advice / capacitate MINEDUC to:

• Develop ICT in Education policy development

• Develop Costed strategic implementation plan& annual

action plans

• Establish of ICT in Education & ODeL unit including the

feasibility

study for setting up ODeL

• Develop large scale ICT infrastructure deployment plan

• e-content contextualization, project plan and capacity

building

• Develop road map for ICT TPD for integration of ICT into

Education

• Establishing monitoring and evaluation framework

• Enabling partnerships for ICT in Education

• Knowledge building & sharing

Activities focused during 2009

• Boundary partner - 1: Ministry of Education

• Boundary partners – 2: MINEDU programme implementing

institutions

and Eco system Ministries such as;

• Rwanda Development Board – IT department

• Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority

• National Curriculum Development Centre

• Kigali Institute of Education

• Regional Institute of ICT Training Centre

• Teachers Service Commission

• Kigali Institute of Science and Technology

• National University of Rwanda

• General Inspectorate

• National Examination Council

• Ministries of ICT, Infrastructure & Finance

• Strategic boundary partners (stake holder's):

NGOs, NPOs, INGO’s, Development partners/project teams,

Govt.

Projects, Private sector organizations etc.,

Boundary partners we work with;

Achievements

Provided strategic advice/ Facilitated / capacitated MINEDUC

and;

• Developed draft ICT in Education Policy

• Through multiple rounds of stake holders workshop

• Along with partners support for financial resource

• First round cabinet review completed / feedback

received

• Integrated ICT in Education into ESSP with the focus to;

• Promotion of an ICT in Education culture

• Foster & manage ICT in Education initiatives

• Framework & guidelines to synergies of stakeholders

• Expand ICT infrastructure to increase access, relevant&

quality

• Develop capacity to integrate the use of ICT into

education

• Develop & distribute quality digital content

• Establish Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL)

Balancing the multiple partners and stakeholders is a real challenge

Achievements

Provided strategic advice/ Facilitated / capacitated

MINEDUC and;

• Re-structuring:• Part of President office Policy planning unit and other

members for MINEDUC restructuring into Rwanda Education Board

• Integrated ICT in Education & ODeL department as part of REB

• ODeL Feasibility study & report

• Developed ICT in Education;• Strategic plan• Costed strategic implementation plan 2010-15• Budgeting for the period 2009-2012 inline with EDPRS• Mini budget Jan 2009-June 2009• Action plans for the period July 2009 to June 2010• Action plan for the period July 2010 to June 2011Strategic plan contd…

Achievements

Provided strategic advice/ Facilitated / capacitated MINEDUC: • ICT infrastructure:

• OLPC project plan & deployment of OLPC large scale & OLPC–Microsoft Pilot project

• Schools of excellence (30) – one per district• Plan for IT facility enhancement at MINEDUC• Stock take analysis of ICT infrastructure in secondary

schools• Technical support for secondary schools• Connectivity and e-waste disposal plan

• Digital Learning Material development• Content evaluation framework and Capacity audit for

NCDC• Acquired interactive multimedia content for primary

level• Handholding for pilot project of e-content

contextualization• Project plan and road map for e-content development• Capacity building for NCDC team• On going capacity building for NCDC team with partners

e-content contextualization contd…

Achievements

• Capacity building• Detailed assessment, joint analysis, development of

ICT TPD matrix – Highly process driven • Capacity audit report - 24 member team at NCDC for e-

content development

• Ongoing capacity building – day to day basis with the team

• Rwanda team participation in AKE• MINEDUC training 8000+ Teachers on Basic IT literacy• GIS project – Training 140 teachers and students

• Monitoring & Evaluation• M&E tool development with partners• Completion of EMIS package, school Management

data collection and entry• Technical and pedagogical support to schoolsRegular participation in Education management committee meeting contd…

Achievements

• Partnerships

• Microsoft – OLPC pilot, Education Alliance agreement

• Intel - CMPC pilot project and Teacher training

• Motorola – wireless connectivity

• REC – Programme implementation support

• Mindset network – e content capacity building

• Ernst & Young, UNESCO and consultants – M & E

• ESRI – Partnership extension for GIS project

• RCN – Partnership renewal - Supply & tech support

• APF – Long term e-content partnership

Achievements

• Knowledge building & sharing

• Leveraged TCO tool in planning – feedback from

officials

• Capacity audit tool for e-content – used for capacity

building

• TCO for e-content – used for e-content planning

• ICT TPD Matrix – Innovative product emerged from

Rwanda

• E-content contextualization and its process document

– Effective South – South Partnership

• Participation of Rwanda in AKE

• Leverage of experience for Africa and Asia program

Next phase…

Overall, we have completed most of the deliverables as agreed in the current MoU. We need to carefully plan the next phase of engagement and agree with MINEDUC during the next 51 days...

Challenges & Lessons Learned

At MINEDUC and Ecosystem Ministries;

• Ministers (3) and Minister of State (3) – Dynamic political

system

• PS (5), ICT in Education Director (3), Dir-Planning (3) –

Uncertainty of tenure of Senior bureaucrats

• Operating team (28 of them) have gone for higher studies

• Delay in setting up of ICT in Education & ODeL

department – In

principle approved by Cabinet and pending for formal

approval

• Delay in approval of ICT in Education policy – To be

accompanied

with costed strategic implementation plan

• Lack of capacity to coordinate and manage the projects

• Lack of accountability / ownership – contractual staff

contd…

Challenges & Lessons Learned

At MINEDUC and Ecosystem Ministries:

• Only 12% & 28% of primary and secondary schools have

electricity respectively – Solar power with the support of

EU

• Ambitious plan for ICT deployment - Resource constraints

• Too many policy changes at one go – Primary to Basic

education,

medium of instruction to English and curriculum change

• Rwanda is marketed well beyond what's happening on

the ground

• Limited financial resources

contd…

Challenges & Lessons Learned

At MINEDUC Implementing agencies:

• Expectation from GeSCI to support the ICT4E

implementation

• Attrition / capacity challenges at the level of operating

team

• Lack of effective coordination among MINEDUC

institutions

• Dependent on fever individuals

• Lack of ICT integration at school level

• Limited digital learning resources

• Lack of Monitoring and evaluation

• Lack of Research & documentation

• Limited willingness to share the Knowledge

contd…

Stake holders – NGO’s/INGO’s/Private Sector/Devpt Partners

etc.,

• Miss-Match of priorities between MINEDUC and

development

partners

• Too many Partners – Many of them with the hidden

agenda

including development partners

• Due diligence process for partnerships

• Lack of transparency coordinated delivery

• Couple of them seeing GeSCI as competitor

Challenges & Lessons Learned

contd…

Within GeSCI;

• Lack of local support for GeSCI – Country Programme

Analyst

• Limited financial resources – not visualized when we

planned

annual plan 2009

• Change of strategy – Mid way during the year and share

of credit

• Limited time for self Professional development

• Possible funding support for demonstrating proof of

concept /

knowledge tool innovation fund

• Challenges for an access to documentation - CPF /

MINEDUC

Challenges & Lessons Learned

Thank you…