Capacity Assessment

As part of the implementation of its first strategic plan the commission planned for a Capacity assessment of institution that use or/and develop Kiswahili in EAC partner states

The commission will develop a needs Audit based on the most accurate assessment of the development and the use of Kiswahili in the community. Further the commission will be able to provide research-based policy to the EAC partner states on how to develop and use Kiswahili for regional integration and sustainable development. To implement this activity the commission held a regional training of trainer’s work shop from26th To 28th march 2018 and trained four trainers who facilitated the national training of Capacity Assessors held from 3^rd to 4^th April, 2018 in Kigali Rwanda that Trained 15 capacity Assessors.

The National training workshop for Rwanda drew participation for a variety of Kiswahili stakeholders

Who included official from ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation ministry of sports and culture, Ministry of Education Kiswahili Associations; the media, academia and private sector. Capacity Assessors undertook research in different part of the country immediately after training

After the completion of the Draft Capacity Assessment Report the Commission organised a validation workshop from 28th to 29th June 2108 in Arusha Tanzania as per the EAC Calendar of activity. Participants were drawn from Government Ministries that worked on the draft report.

The Validation workshop internalized the draft report and recommended that a matrix be developed by the commission and sent to partner states for further input. Subsequently the commission developed the matrix and sent to partner state with 30th October as a deadline for submitting their inputs

The commission convened a national stakeholder meeting from 3^rd to 4^th December 2018 at the East Africa Science and Technology Commission in Kigali, Rwanda to verify Capacity Assessment Data as per the recommendation of the validation workshop

The participants were drown from Kiswahili stakeholders as communicated to the ministry Of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Media and the development of Kiswahili in Rwanda  

 The meeting was informed that capacity assessment exercise focused on media as vital means of communication in the Morden world. Media play an important role in keeping citizen informed on the current matter that affect the communities and EAC at large.

In Rwanda communication systems that employ and use Kiswahili language, include television, radio, newspaper magazine online forums and internet to some extent. This communication system has capacity to transform the use and development of Kiswahili in Rwanda and across the community

The Government owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) has the only locally based radio that uses Kiswahili though the time allotted for Kiswahili programmes is still insufficient .there is Kiswahili programme in Saturday on Rwanda TV . However international channels such as BBC, VOA and DW broadcast Kiswahili News with the help of Kiswahili speaking correspondents in Kigali. RBA has join venture with VOA where the latter’s Kiswahili news bulletins are aired for thirty minutes daily on RTV 

The meeting noted there is no single national Kiswahili newspaper in the country which is a challenge to creative writing

The Development of Kiswahili in Education in Rwanda

The government of Rwanda has made Kiswahili one of the official languages and this has impact on Education in the country. This implies that Education sector will have to play an important role in developing and promoting the language in the country

The government of Rwanda policy making Kinyarwanda a compulsory language of instruction for pre and lower primary school levels making Kiswahili minimally used at ECD level however Kiswahili is taught in secondary as subject and as an option at A-level.

At University Kiswahili is taught and examined as a speciality. Every year a significant number of students graduate as Kiswahili professional who are competent to teach Kiswahili at different level of education

The meeting observed the number of Kiswahili graduates have remained unemployed despite the need for qualified Kiswahili professional. Lack of enough teaching materials has been identified despite effort to wright Kiswahili books in house.

 Kiswahili, Politics, Governance, and Administration in Rwanda 

The meeting was informed that the key aspect of politics, administration and governance is the relationship between the citizens, leaders and public intuitions to cause changes in society. To promote the use of Kiswahili in Rwanda, the ministry of foreign affairs and the international cooperation organize a Swahili week to be launched by the president this will give impetus to Kiswahili acceptability and usage in Rwanda