Private schooling in Rwanda: closing learning gaps through churches as educational partners?

As part of the EFA initiative, education in Rwanda has greatly expanded. In order to meet the MDG target 2 Rwanda was one of the "top three performers" in the last five years (EFA GMR 2014, p 2 and 53 f). Primary schools... [ view full abstract ]

As part of the EFA initiative, education in Rwanda has greatly expanded. In order to meet the MDG target 2 Rwanda was one of the "top three performers" in the last five years (EFA GMR 2014, p 2 and 53 f). Primary schools operated by churches play a significant role in this development. In 2012, 66% of all primary schools in Rwanda were operated by churches, financed jointly by government, churches and parents.

In this paper, this cooperation in education is discussed in terms of tensions and relationships between educational expansion, quality, equity and inclusivity. The contribution will describe the religious private education sector in Rwanda in more detail and characterize features of the collaboration with the state. The paper is based on an ongoing empirical study on religious private schools (focus on protestant private schools) in Rwanda; first results are given in terms of the distribution of these schools, their concepts and their international networks.

In the light of the ongoing debate on private schools (see DFID 2014) this type of cooperation between state and civil society and its attractiveness are analyzed reflecting school-commitment, forms of participation and dealing with the genocide. Challenges and opportunities of this cooperation model in regard to educational expansion, quality, equity and inclusivity are discussed and related to the current discourse on privat education.