[{"bbox": [85, 153, 340, 184], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [98, 200, 316, 226], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Short problem analysis:"}, {"bbox": [98, 255, 1132, 335], "category": "Text", "text": "The key bottlenecks identified, and which need to be tackled in order to uplift the pre-primary sub-sector are: a) access to pre-primary education, specifically school-based education; b) the need to increase the quality of pre-primary education; and c) the need to tackle good governance and coordination in this very new subsector."}, {"bbox": [98, 364, 417, 391], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Access to pre-primary education"}, {"bbox": [98, 419, 1133, 685], "category": "Text", "text": "In terms of access, the main problems identified are the lack and equitable distribution of teachers and classrooms, as well as the need to lower costs, including costs of the national school feeding programme, for families. According to the Rwandan government, net enrolment grew from 20.8 % (2017) to 24.6 % (2019). Currently, the number of classrooms in pre-primary is 7 414 with the average of 40 pupils per classrooms. The targeted standard class size is 30 pupils per class, whereby the total number of classrooms required is 33 679. The gap is hence 26,264 classrooms. Rural areas have greater needs, with ten districts identified (Ministry of Education - MINEDUC/UNICEF) as the most lagging behind pre-school provision. However, provision remains low all across the country. Access is also linked to wealth, with indications – as shown in the 2017 Education Sector Analysis (MINEDUC, 2017) – that children in the richest quintile are more likely to access pre-primary education than children from the three poorest quintiles."}, {"bbox": [98, 714, 1133, 874], "category": "Text", "text": "The number of qualified teachers able to teach at pre-primary level is also a bottleneck. Scaling up of pre-school teacher training and including them in the government payroll is a key priority of the latest education sector plan. Payroll for pre-primary teachers has just started recently, with the first intake of 500 school teachers starting during fiscal year 2020/2021 and an additional 3000 planned to be put on payroll in 2021/2022. The creation of payroll posts and phasing in of salaries will have to accompany this trend. In order to be put on payroll, however, teachers have to undergo formal pre-service or in-service training."}, {"bbox": [98, 902, 1133, 1301], "category": "Text", "text": "According to the Comprehensive Food Security & Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA), which was co-funded by the EU, national stunting rates currently stand at 32.4 %. The Government of Rwanda scaled up the School Feeding Program from pre-primary up to secondary schools in October 2021 for all government and government-aided schools (privately owned, but with public subsidies provided for teacher's payroll), currently reaching more than 3.3 million pupils. This was reflected in a budget increase of USD 8 000 000 to USD 25 000 000 (now 6 % of the total education budget). Whilst school feeding is set to benefit from further government funds, according to the latest budget revision (fiscal year 2021/2022), the government programme is based on a compulsory contribution from parents (around 40 % government contribution and around 60 % parents contribution). Families can contribute in-kind and, in some cases, through labour. However, the contribution still deters parents from sending their children to pre-primary school. The Education Sector Analysis (ESA) noted that despite the law on free education, there had been instances where children were excluded because of inability to pay the 'parental contribution'. The World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding programme, which direct funding contribution to government's budget for schools' meals will be phasing out from 2023, reduced parents contributions to RWF 200 per month (EUR 0.2), per child, in several schools of Huye district. This resulted in a 92 % school attendance across all grades, compared to 86 % in 2016."}, {"bbox": [98, 1330, 276, 1356], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Quality education"}, {"bbox": [98, 1385, 1133, 1624], "category": "Text", "text": "Quality assurance is ingrained across the three key areas of intervention of this action. However, more specifically, vital areas of intervention are teacher-training, setting standards for curricula and assessments, inclusive education, parenting practices and community interventions and access to teaching materials. Pre-primary teachers are trained in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), under the Rwanda Education Board (REB), and training is complemented in module schools. In 2019, only 53.4 % of all pre-primary caregivers had received some form of training and there is no data on how many of these had been trained in TTCs. It is assumed that the majority received some form of training through Development Partners and NGOs. Yet, access is uneven, and whilst a mapping exercise is underway during the first semester of 2022, a strategy on how to provide equal access and quality training to all new teachers, remains to be further defined. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government and Development"}, {"bbox": [1028, 1678, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 30"}]