Rwanda

Understanding Rwanda's Education Needs

Over the last two decades, Rwanda has made remarkable progress in increasing access to education, improving school enrollment, and positioning education as a cornerstone of national development. Still, like many countries striving to achieve equitable learning outcomes, Rwanda still faces significant challenges. While the country has achieved near-universal access to primary education, the challenge has increasingly shifted from school access to learning quality.

Foundational literacy skills – many children, particularly in the early grades, struggle to develop strong reading skills.

High-quality reading materials – many schools and communities still lack sufficient age-appropriate, culturally relevant reading materials in Kinyarwanda and English.

Book ecosystems – the growth of local publishing has not always been accompanied by the technical capacity required to produce materials that meet educational standards.

Teacher capacity and ongoing support – teacher training and ongoing professional development remain essential to ensure effective literacy instructions.

Room to Read in Rwanda

2016 to 2020

Room to Read served as the primary literacy technical lead for USAID Soma Umenye, working with the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) to improve early-grade reading. It supported quality Kinyarwanda materials and teacher professional development nationwide, contributing to literacy gains and demonstrating the value of long-term collaboration.

2023 - 2025

Building on this success, Room to Read supported Rwanda’s education sector through the USAID-funded Ibitabo Kuri Twese, strengthening the teaching and learning materials market to improve the availability, affordability, accessibility, and quality of children’s books. It also convened policymakers, publishers, educators, and private-sector stakeholders to address barriers in the publishing ecosystem.

2025 and Beyond

In 2025, Room to Read’s project in Rwanda was abruptly halted due to the USAID stop work order. In the wake of this project closure, the Rwandan Basic Education Board requested Room to Read to continue providing support. Over the last year, Room to Read has established its own legal entity in Rwanda and began providing technical assistance and advisory support to the Rwandan government to strengthen literacy outcomes.

Room to Read’s work has already contributed to storybook development, teacher training, literacy programming, and partnerships with the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders. Through these efforts, Room to Read seeks not only to help children learn to read but also to create an environment where books, stories, and literacy become central to Rwanda's educational and social development.

Our Impact at a Glance:

• Room to Read has benefited over 3.1 million children in Rwanda.

• In 2026, 34 Room to Read storybooks adapted into Kinyarwanda were validated and approved by Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) for school-library distribution, while new training manuals for library management, reading activities and facilitation were developed with education officials, teachers, and language specialists.

• Over 10,000 copies of Room to Read adapted storybooks were distributed in 20 pilot schools.

• 120 teachers and librarians were trained in effective library management and engaging reading activities.

• 20 Sector Education Inspectors were trained on library management, reading activities and facilitation equipped with the required skills and tools to support the implementation, scaling and sustainability of our program.

• Room to Read also trained 13 local authors, 13 illustrators and 9 local book versioning editors, helping build the skills, materials and institutional capacity needed to foster strong reading habits among Rwandan children.

By partnering with government institutions, educators, publishers, communities, and other key education partners, Room to Read is helping to build a future where every child in Rwanda has the opportunity to read, learn, and thrive.