Starting September 2025, Rwanda implemented wide-ranging education reforms focusing on lower primary and upper secondary schools. The changes come after a national review of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), which revealed serious challenges in its rollout.
Dr. Flora Mutezigaju, Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Education Board (REB), noted that one of the biggest problems was a gap between the curriculum design and how schools actually operate.
“While the CBC was built for a single-shift school day of eight periods, more than half of our public and government-aided schools run on a double-shift system,” Dr. Mutezigaju said.
Currently, 52% of lower primary schools operate double shifts, where learners receive only five periods per day instead of eight. This has led to incomplete syllabus coverage, weaker learning outcomes, and high repetition rates.
Changes in Lower Primary
To address these gaps, the Ministry of Education has revised textbooks, teacher guides, syllabi, and lesson distribution plans to fit available classroom time. From September, schools will open at 8:00 a.m. instead of 8:45 a.m., with class sizes capped at 50 pupils. New textbooks in Kinyarwanda, Mathematics, and English will also be delivered.
Lower primary classes will further benefit from staffing adjustments. Graduates of the Early Childhood and Lower Primary Education (ECLPE) program will teach all subjects, and two teachers will be assigned to each class—one for the morning shift and another for the afternoon.
Upper Secondary: From Combinations to Pathways
At the upper secondary level, the long-standing “subject combinations” will be replaced by flexible “learning pathways.” The change aims to provide students with more choice and to better align education with individual interests and future career opportunities.
The new pathways include:
Math and Science Pathway
Stream 1: Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, French, Kinyarwanda
Stream 2: Math, Economics, Geography, Physics, English, French, Kinyarwanda
Arts & Humanities Pathway
History, Literature in English, Geography, Psychology, French, Kinyarwanda, Basic MathLanguages Pathway
English, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, French, History, Psychology, Basic Math
Additionally, ICT, Entrepreneurship, General Studies, and Physical Education & Sport will be compulsory for all students. National exams will cover most subjects, while PE & Sport, General Studies, ICT, and Entrepreneurship will be assessed at school level.
Education experts expect the reforms to narrow the learning gap, reduce dropout rates, and provide students with a broader skill set for their future careers.
Source: Adapted from Top Africa News (August 2025)
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