Kigali- 4th September 2019- 19-year-old Natamba Faith is a Teaching Assistant deployed at Groupe Scolaire Rwisirabo in Kayonza district in the Eastern province of Rwanda. Every day, Faith goes to her host school to assist in the teaching and learning of physics and mathematics to over 200 students at secondary level at Groupe Scolaire Rwisirabo, under the Teaching Assistantships Project. In her advanced level studies, Faith studied Biology, Chemistry and Geography because she wanted to do general nursing to meet her passion for helping those in need.
In partnership with Mastercard Foundation through its Leaders in Teaching Initiative (LIT) in Rwanda, Inspire Educate and Empower Rwanda (IEE) is piloting the Teaching Assistantships project through which 150 bright young women in their gap year are posted in 73 schools in 15 districts across Rwanda, to work as Teaching Assistants for mathematics and science subjects alongside qualified teachers. The intention of the project is to give the Teaching Assistants opportunities to get practical teaching experiences, complementing teachers’ efforts and hopefully being inspired to take up teaching careers or consider education as area of further academic study.
Teaching Assistants spend 6 months at schools, working alongside qualified class teachers, assisting in teaching. Faith’s experience indicates that Teaching Assistants get more than teaching experience: They are also inspired. Asked about how she has changed her mind from pursuing general nursing to pursuing education in her tertiary studies, Faith has this to say: In addition to admiring my host teacher, my Head Teacher Mr. Mushinzimana Emmanuel has been a huge inspiration to me. I have seen him encouraging teachers to teach well and he has been kind to me, discussing with me my career plans. Motivated by my teaching experience, my host teacher and head teacher, I have decided to do education at university, so that I support the learning of students.
Backed by the knowledge and skills she got from Teaching Assistantships Project trainings, Faith confesses to have changed the attitude she had about the teaching profession. I used to think that teachers are the disrespected and poorest people in the society but after joining the trainings, and teaching, my attitude towards the profession has changed and now I want to take on education as my future career, said Faith determinedly.
It is young women like Faith who are the fruits of the Teaching Assistantships Project, which in contribution government priorities, is inspiring a generation of young, bright female scholars to train as teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Reactions to this content may be addressed to: ieerwanda.directorate.org@gmail.com