Frank Murenzi is a teacher in Rwanda's capital, Kigali. Like many others in his profession, he has struggled to adapt to the government's one-teacher-all-subjects policy.

It was implemented over a year ago in government-funded lower-primary schools which teach children aged 6 to 8. 

"It has not been an easy job because we talk about specialization and you cannot be an expert in all subjects," he told DW.

"Now the challenge is we are told to teach all subjects, but we are training [on the job] because this is a directive from the government. We have no choice."

The policy mandates all primary school teachers to teach all subjects to pupils up to the age of 12 — regardless of their original field of expertise.

The directive was an attempt to address a critical shortage of teachers in Rwanda, with many having left the profession in favor of higher-paying jobs.

'One teacher is enough'

But not all teachers believe the government's policy is likely to backfire.

Bertin Murabukirwa, a primary school teacher in Rwanda's vast eastern province, told DW that a single teacher is sufficient for a lower primary class.

"We are talking about young learners," she told DW. "One teacher is enough in this case."

Murabukirwa added that the problem was not so much about a lack of teachers, but the need to foster specialization in the broader education sector.

Noel Mporebuke, also a teacher in Rwanda's eastern province, also says he has not encountered significant challenges as he is only required to teach the basics to primary students which the majority of teacher have been trained for. 

"Having different teachers teach different subjects may not give desired results, since these pupils are still young and need a [single] teacher to supervise them closely on a daily basis in all aspects of life," he told DW. 

The one-teacher-all-subjects policy now sets Rwanda apart from other countries in the east African region, with most neighboring countries opting for specialization. However, Mporebuke believes Rwanda can still offer quality education.

"[There are still] some teachers choosing to specialize in science subjects, for example mathematics and elementary science, or in languages. So it becomes easy for such a teacher to facilitate and aide pupils to learn all these subjects, too."

But some teachers like Murenzi believe the approach will have a negative impact on the quality of education in Rwanda, claiming that even high school graduates are now being hired in schools without training.

"Handling all those subjects is not possible, it is just a struggle," he said. "I think there will be a problem of quality and we will have 'half-baked' students at the end of the day."

A complicated system

Rwanda joined many other countries in 2013 when it adopted Universal Primary Education (UPE)— under which all children are required to complete a full course of primary schooling.

In Rwanda, this now means enrollment is mandatory and free of charge or highly subsidized. However, the student-teacher ratio has shifted as a result: According to UNESCO, it currently stands at 59 students per teacher — more than double the world average of 25 students per teacher.

The government has been recruiting teachers from Zimbabwe and Uganda to help fill the gap, however many Ugandan teachers later left their positions following escalating tensions between Kigali and Kampala.

Rwanda's education system has also struggled to maintain a consistent policy when it comes to the language of instruction. In December 2019, the Rwandan government announced that all primary schools should teach in English, despite many teachers being unable to speak it themselves.

It marked the third time in 11 years that the government introduced a language shift: Before 2008, primary schoolers were taught in Kinyarwanda and switched to French in the fourth grade.

After 2008, the government announced that the language of instruction in all schools should be in English.

In 2011, with many teachers still struggling to grasp the language, the government modified the policy, requiring teachers to use Kinyarwanda for the first three years of primary school, then switch to English for the last three years.

This article has been adapted from a radio report that was originally broadcast on DW's daily radio show AfricaLink