BUJUMBURA March 23rd (ABP) – The Minister of Education, Ms. Janvière Ndirahisha, was on Wednesday March 21, 2018 in the National Assembly to answer the oral questions from Members of the Parliament, a check by ABP revealed.
The questions put to Minister Ndirahisha related to the redeployment, the problem of insufficient material and teachers, the introduction of the master’s program, the evening program in the universities, the loan-scholarship and the other.
Regarding the redeployment, Ms. Ndirahisha said that the activity went well, despite some lamentations. She said that with this activity, the government has recovered more than one billion Burundian francs. For the lamentations heard from some individuals, Minister Ndirahisha emphasized that the worker must go where there is work and must not impose his duty station.
Regarding the problem of insufficient equipment, the Minister of Education said that her Ministry plans to make orders within the Board of Pedagogical Production (RPP) because, she acknowledged, orders moreover, they often delay. Despite the lack of teachers, there has never been an order banning the use of provisional salary workers, Ndirisha said, adding that her Ministry does not plan to do so because it still has debts to them. However, she said, the Provincial Directorates of Education can, in collaboration with the administration to recruit those temporary teachers, organize themselves without asking the help from the Ministry. MPs worried about the quality of teaching after the redeployed teachers do not show up at their place of work, Ndirahisha replied that this will be resolved as those teachers understand that there is no law to work exclusively where one is born.
As for the ban on evening university education by the Minister of Education, she categorically denied having ordered the abolition of the evening program at the university. Only, she explained, she did not appreciate this program because it has gaps at the organizational level. “You have to plan well in order not to just issue papers,” she said, pointing out that one does not go to university to attend only, but to have a qualification.
Still in the field of university education, Ndirahisha said that the master’s program will be organized in synergy between different universities to avoid teaching the same subjects instead of dispatching them in different institutions and according to projections specified for the country. .
With regard to the terms and conditions for receiving the loan-scholarship, she indicated that an Order is being prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance. In addition, the Ministry of Education is correcting mistakes made in the past, based on regional, ethnic and gender balance, Minister Ndirahisha said.
The Members of Parliament wanted to know the fate of the D6 laureates who are not currently sufficiently hired and also do not have the opportunity to continue the university education, as well as the High normal School (ENS) which continues to train teachers without thinking about their subsequent hiring. Minister Ndirahisha pointed out that the government is trying to give them knowledge and that they must use it to create jobs.
The elected representatives, particularly the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Pascal Nyabenda, appreciated the achievements of the Ministry in charge of National Education which, they admitted, took many decisions favoring a good education. Mr. Nyabenda asked the Minister to continue her efforts to ensure the training-employment adequacy. He also pleaded for the Ministry to consult with the Ministry in charge of the Civil Service to resolve the issue of diplomas issued by vocational schools, including the Normal School of Administration (ENA).
