Digital education improves teaching experience in refugee-hosting schools
Digital education improves teaching experience in refugee-hosting schools
When Jean Parfait Gatete started his career as a teacher in 2006, he had no idea that digital learning tools would become a crucial part of his teaching one day. 17 years later, all has changed: his class is equipped with computers, tablets, and other IT tools that the 43-year-old teacher and his students use daily.
As a science teacher, Jean Parfait teaches primary six at Nyabicwamba school near Nyabiheke camp, attended by both Congolese refugee and Rwandan students. He says he only used a computer at work for the first time in 2015. But then, the use of the computer was only limited to making students’ report cards.
Jean Parfait, who moved to Nyabicwamba school three years ago, used to rely on handwritten notes which students took time to copy into their notebooks in order to learn subjects such as Science and elementary technology, and Math. This time-consuming and ineffective modus operandi turned around just over a year ago when the school got tablets for students, as well as computers, projectors, and other IT tools through the connected learning project.
“I used to take like an hour to prepare a lesson, but it now takes me a few minutes,” he points out. “With these IT tools, we feel relieved because tablets have interactive and connected content. When children do tests, they immediately get scores, so teachers no longer spend time marking the tests.”
The Connected Learning project, implemented by UNHCR and partners Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and World Vision International, was launched in Rwanda in 2021 through a partnership between UNHCR and the ProFuturo Foundation, a digital education programme promoted by Fundación Telefónica and Fundación ¨la Caixa¨, with a mission to narrow the educational divide in the world by providing quality digital education to young boys and girls living in vulnerable environments.
The digital education initiative has since been implemented in 15 refugee-hosting schools across Rwanda, reaching more than 16,000 upper primary refugee and Rwandan students and 681 teachers.
Thanks to support from the ProFuturo Foundation, UNHCR has also built and furnished 3 ICT rooms, one each at Nyabchiwamba near Nyabiheke refugee camp, Paysannat L-C in Mahama refugee camp, and Umbano school in Kiziba refugee camp.
As part of the project, Gatete and his fellow teachers attended training sessions on innovative skills, educational transformation, and digital education.
Like Jean Parfait, Maureen Tuyisingize, 21, a math teacher at Nyabicwamba school, states the environment is now better than ever before. She recalls that when she was conducting her final internship preparing herself to become a professional teacher, her host school had no computers, and she had to borrow a computer from outside the school to make students’ report cards.
She is now happy that her school is well-equipped with IT equipment. Maureen says as teachers they also use the computers to conduct some research to enhance their knowledge.
She adds that the connected learning programme has significantly contributed to enhancing school attendance.
“When I first came to Nyabicwamba school, my class had 51 students, but at the end of the year, only 48 remained. Others had dropped out of school,” she explains. “But since we received this equipment from ProFuturo, we had no single dropout case because the children are attracted by these tablets and they love IT tools so much.”
Maureen observes that the connected learning initiative has not only helped overcome hurdles that teachers used to go through but also improved digital learning among children.
“At the beginning of the project, some of the students didn’t even know how to switch on tablets. We are really grateful for what ProFuturo has done for us,” she says.
Apart from improving digital learning, Jean Parfait says using the devices brings refugee and Rwandan students closer to each other, cementing peaceful coexistence.
“When you enter my class, you would not be able to tell the difference between who is a refugee or Rwandan student,” he says.
For Gatete and Tuyisingize, they are keen to learn more about how to use such digital learning tools to support their students and say they are looking forward to receiving additional refresher trainings to keep them abreast with the latest trends in digital education. With the world of IT evolving quickly, the ProFuturo Foundation is helping UNHCR and partners bring about change for students and teachers across Rwanda.