(Ecofin Agency) - In Rwanda, the government wants to improve education quality by betting on innovation amid the accelerated digital transformation.

Rwanda plans to connect about 3,000 schools to the internet. According to ICT Minister Paula Ingabire, who disclosed the plan during a plenary sitting of the chamber of deputies, the project is funded by China Exim Bank.

Thanks to the China Exim Bank's US$30 million financing, at least 1,500 schools will be connected to the internet by the end of next year. The remaining schools will be connected in the framework of a digital acceleration project funded by the World Bank, to the tune of US$200 million.

This initiative is part of the "Smart Education" project, which aims to improve Rwanda's education ICT infrastructure by building a pedagogical platform and establishing a dedicated network system. It also aims to provide a " solid foundation for digital teaching, education resources sharing, and teaching methods innovation and the education level improvement for Rwandan citizens."

The project comes at a time when 44.4% of Rwandan schools do not yet have access to the Internet. According to Ms. Ingabire, about 3,000 of Rwanda's 6,756 schools are not yet connected to the Internet.

Isaac K. Kassouwi