Good and growing Information Technology
ICT is central to Rwanda’s Vision for 2020, and ICT in education is one of the core pillars of the country’s National Information and Communications Infrastructure Policy and Plan, adopted in 2000. Tremendous progress has been made since then and thecountry continues to receive plaudits and support from its development partners.
The pace of development of a national ICT infrastructure is remarkable as is the progress within the education system on disseminating computers and providing connectivity and teacher training. Moreover, there is a nationwide effort to provide universal access to both infrastructure and the Internet in order to facilitate ICT4D in the broadest sense. The National University of Rwanda (NUR) and the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) are particularly noteworthy in terms of ICT in education – NUR because of its academic excellence in ICT and KIST because of its ICT training mandate and its partnership with the African Virtual University (AVU).
The Government of Rwanda has set a national goal that the country will achieve middle income status by 2020 based on an information-rich, knowledge-based society and economy, achieved by modernizing its key sectors using ICT. This vision, developed through a national consultative process that began in 1998, is the driving force for policy development across government ministries, public institutions, and with the country’s
development partners.
The partners working with the Government of Rwanda in the development of its national ICT policies include the Economic Commission for Africa, USAID, UNDP, and the Carnegie Foundation.
The development of Rwanda’s national ICT policies is leaded by the following organizations:
- The National Information Technology Commission (NITC), chaired by the president and its mission is to lead the process of creating the Rwandan information society and economy in line with the aspirations of the 2020 Vision. It is also responsible forpolicy and program monitoring and evaluation;
- The Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA), an autonomous agency under the direct supervision of NITC. It is the main body in charge of actually implementing the ICT policies and all of the associated projects and programs – including human development. It also acts as the secretariat for NITC and has administrative links and working relations with the Office of the President, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (the sponsoring ministry). RITA’s primary role is to enhance public awareness about ICT and, through its National Computing Centre, provide consulting services to the government and to public;
- The Rwanda Development Gateway Group is another facet of the national facilitating structure. This is a group of three “ICT for development” initiatives under the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research (MINEDUC) being funded by the government, which include the following:
• The Rwanda Development Gateway (RDG), hosted by the National University, which is establishing a national portal to provide one-stop shopping for information on Rwanda and to be the country’s Web interface to the rest of the world
• The Centre for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, also hosted by the National University
• The Regional ICT Training and Research Center (RITC),13 hosted by KIST, which provides ICT training for government staff, teachers, school leavers, and staff in institutions of higher learning
ICT in Education
ICT in education policy, along with detailed implementation strategies, are defined in each of the NICI plans for action by the Ministry of Education – supported and monitored by the national facilitating agencies described above.
The sub-plan for education in NICI-2010 sets out a number of policy action items and associated planned actions that include time frames, budget estimates, and expected benefits. The planned actions, with leadership assigned to the Ministry of Education (sometimes in collaboration with other agencies), are listed below. Some of these are new, while others relate to planned actions in NICI-2005 that have been updated and
revised. Others have been rolled forward from the NICI-2005 plan into the NICI-2010 plan because implementation is continuing. These policy actions are:
• Train primary and secondary teachers on ICT in education
• Establish a national library network
• Develop new e-learning content
• Implement an educational management system (EMIS)
• Survey educational software appropriate for Rwanda and translate to Kinyarwanda
• Convert existing computer-based training and e-learning content to Kinyarwanda
• Develop programs to promote the acquisition of computer equipment by educational institutions
• Develop a comprehensive policy on computer education in schools
• Develop a national School Net to provide access to the Internet for schools, facilitate sharing of learning resources, facilitate electronic distance education within the school system, and link Rwandan schools with schools internationally
• Develop a national computer curriculum for primary and secondary schools and coordinate its implementation
• Train a critical mass of computer literate teachers
• Develop a national program to speed up the deployment and use of ICTs in higher education institutions (A specific component is the establishment of a Rwandan Academic Research Network that links all institutions and provides a gateway to the Internet.)
• Develop a national electronic distance education and training program that supplements and complements campus-based education at all levels, facilitates lifelong learning, and encourages in-service training in both the public and private sectors
• Develop special ICT-in-education initiatives for academic exchanges and twinning, implementation of the SMART schools concept, and penetration of ICT into rural schools
• Establish a regional information technology training and research institute to serve Rwanda and the sub-region.
• Developing an understanding within the system of the value of technology and the need for investment
• Developing procurement and installation strategies
• Implementing an EMIS
• Developing and managing content and integrating it into the curriculum The Kigali Institute of Education (KIE),14 started in 1999, with funding from the government and numerous donors such as the World Bank, the Swiss Co-operation, DFID, USAID, and UNESCO, has become an important teacher-training institution. KIE’s mission is to train secondary school teachers and faculty in teacher-training colleges and technical schools.
ICT infrastructure in Rwanda
Creating access to ICT infrastructure is at the heart of Vision 2020, and the government is being widely recognized and applauded for the achievements since the promulgation of its ICT policy and plans.
Rwanda’s move towards an ICT and knowledge driven economy is a decision rooted in the practical realities and challenges within Rwanda, but equally it has taken into account recent trends so that Rwanda can position herself to compete in the global economy.
Just as it is clear that growth in the 19th and 20th centuries was driven by networks of railways and highways, growth and development in the 21st century is being defined and driven by digital highways and ICT-led value-added services.
Africa missed both the agricultural and industrial revolutions and in Rwanda is determined to take full advantage of the digital revolution. This revolution is summed up by the fact that it is no longer of utmost importance where you are but rather what you can do – this is of great benefit to traditionally marginalized regions and geographically isolated populations.
Overview of the ICT infrastructure
• Attracted $500M in investment over the last three years by both private and public sector
• The government has invested in building the ICT infrastructure through:
- a 2,500km optic fiber that covers Kigali city and the entire country, with a total of 7 regional links to the neighboring countries
- Kigali City Wireless Broadband
- ICT park set up for investors in pilot phase
• ICT in Rwanda currently encompasses, in varying degrees:
- Wireline telephones
- VoIP
- Dial-up internet, ISDN based internet, broadband internet
- Computer software use and development,
- Computer hardware, assembly, and repair
Major players in telecom
• MTN Rwanda and Rwandatel are the dominant players, offering fixed telephones, mobile telephones, and internet services. TiGO, the 3rd operator, is set to begin operation by end of 2009
• Between the two companies, there are approximately 2M mobile subscribers, representing 20% penetration
• A sizeable private sector is growing around the networking and software development sectors, with Rwandan companies exporting services to Burundi and Eastern DRC
• Rwanda is participating in a $24M World Bank project to connect its national backbone to submarine cable. There are three optic Service Providers Seacom, Teams and Eassy, at the East Coast to link various African countries to the global network.
Current Rwanda ICT Projects
The eRwanda project aims at using ICT to simplify Government procedures, bringing transparency, accountability, allowing greater public access to information and making credible timely information available to all citizens, as well as providing all services in an efficient and cost-effective manner on an online basis.
The Karisimbi project has been set up with a plan to provide high quality in communication navigation surveillance, telecommunications, and FM radio and television coverage in the country. Mt. Karisimbi is a strategic point with a great potential to play a significant role in enhancing broadcasting capabilities. The Karisimbi project has two main projects, broadcasting and Communication Navigation Surveillance/ Air Traffic Controller project.
The ICT Employment Fund: Rwanda needs to have a very competent, highly skilled workforce, including in ICT. While a number of Rwandan institutions train Rwandans in ICT, graduates typically lack the work experience required by employers. Addressing this need, and enhancing young graduates’ employability and work skills, RITA and HIDA have collaborated to develop an ICT Employment Fund (ICTEF).
The National Computing Center (NCC), one of the technical directorates at the Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA), was established to assist the Rwandan government operate more efficiently by offering technical support and consultancy services for the successful implementation of the National Information and Communication Infrastructure Plan.
Gasabo 3D is an innovative web based engineering services company. It provides companies around the globe the most cost-effective and efficient way to convert critical two-dimensional (2D) CAD drawings or blueprints into accurate three-dimensional (3D) CAD models.
ICT actors in Rwanda
- Ministry in the President’s Office in Charge of Science and Technology
- Rwanda Information and Technology Authority (RITA)
- Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA)
- Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA)
- Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)
Sources:
- www.infodev.org
- www.rwandagateway.org
- www.rita.gov.rw
- www.rwandainvest.com
- www.rura.gov.rw
