At least 4,000 Kenyan secondary school teachers could soon land jobs in Rwanda. Education PS James ole Kiyiapi said the Rwandan Government had requested to contract English language teachers through the Ministry of Education.
The PS, however, said the contract would be signed between the two countries based on pre-determined terms by the two countries.
"The Rwandan Government, Teachers Service Commission and my ministry will discuss the terms for these teachers before they are allowed to sign the contract," he said.
The PS said the Rwandan Government made the request during a recent exchange trip by 150 Kenyan teachers to the country.
"That was just a verbal request. We are still waiting for the formal one. They said they wanted diploma holders and above," he said.
Official languages
Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the official languages of Rwanda are Kinyarwanda, French and English.
Kiyiapi said the criteria of hiring the teachers shall be discussed and the number of years awarded per contract be determined well ahead of the departure. "We know there are several teachers who are qualified and we want to give them a chance to work in Rwanda," he said.
Kiyiapi said already there is a joint protocol of co-operation between the two countries and noted that education is just another sector.
"The agreement shall be based within the principles of the general protocol. It will have to be an agreement and we shall do it," he said.
He said once the Government gets the official request from the Rwandan government, the ministry will move with speed to accord the teachers employment opportunities.
"This is not the first time for such contracts. This has previously been done with nurses. It is not right to keep teachers here when opportunities are available elsewhere," he said.
The development comes barely a month after teacher unions staged a weeklong strike to push the Government to convert all contract teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
It also comes after the Ministry of Education, teacher unions, Treasury and TSC signed an agreement to scrap off further employment of teachers on contract.
source:
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000046025&cid=4
The PS, however, said the contract would be signed between the two countries based on pre-determined terms by the two countries.
"The Rwandan Government, Teachers Service Commission and my ministry will discuss the terms for these teachers before they are allowed to sign the contract," he said.
The PS said the Rwandan Government made the request during a recent exchange trip by 150 Kenyan teachers to the country.
"That was just a verbal request. We are still waiting for the formal one. They said they wanted diploma holders and above," he said.
Official languages
Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the official languages of Rwanda are Kinyarwanda, French and English.
Kiyiapi said the criteria of hiring the teachers shall be discussed and the number of years awarded per contract be determined well ahead of the departure. "We know there are several teachers who are qualified and we want to give them a chance to work in Rwanda," he said.
Kiyiapi said already there is a joint protocol of co-operation between the two countries and noted that education is just another sector.
"The agreement shall be based within the principles of the general protocol. It will have to be an agreement and we shall do it," he said.
He said once the Government gets the official request from the Rwandan government, the ministry will move with speed to accord the teachers employment opportunities.
"This is not the first time for such contracts. This has previously been done with nurses. It is not right to keep teachers here when opportunities are available elsewhere," he said.
The development comes barely a month after teacher unions staged a weeklong strike to push the Government to convert all contract teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
It also comes after the Ministry of Education, teacher unions, Treasury and TSC signed an agreement to scrap off further employment of teachers on contract.
source:
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000046025&cid=4