Rwanda Set To Introduce Agro-Vet and Nursing Course In TVET Schools

The government of Rwanda is set to introduce agronomy, veterinary and nursing courses in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as part of the plans to bridge the skills gap.

These new programmes, set to be rolled out in the next academic year which begins in September this year, were announced by Prime Minister Édouard Ngirente.

The Premier revealed this while presenting to parliament, government actions on the promotion of TVET schools and Polytechnics.

He said government realised there was a problem when agronomist and veterinarians work on large projects and leave the small agriculture projects to agricultural community advisors, hence creating a gap.

Ngirente said by introducing these courses in TVET schools, the country will create a critical mass of skilled workers who can reach more people in communities.

He said through this, they can teach farmers basic agriculture, veterinary and nursing skills.

In response, Member of Parliament, Marie Therese Murekatete, said the country has only two institutions that offer agro-veterinary courses, adding that the institutions did not have sufficient laboratories or equipment to facilitate student learning.

The Premier said in order to address the shortage of nurses, the government will introduce the nursing courses in TVET secondary schools, and they will be awarded high school diplomas.

Rwanda is faced with a huge gap in the nursing industry, with nurses and community workers overwhelmed with work.

According to the Ministry of health by the end of June 2020, Rwanda had a total of 10,447 nurses working in both private and public health facilities.

However, nurses per population ratio had improved from one nurse per 1,291 people in 2010 to one nurse per 1,198 in 2020.