How many rwandans speak english

The pre-colonial, colonial, postcolonial, as well as the post-genocide periods of the country have influenced the adoption and use of these languages. Kinyarwanda is a Bantu ethnic language with more than 12 million speakers in various countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda.

In Rwanda, Kinyarwanda is an official language and the only ethnic language. Kinyarwanda is an ethnic language spoken by the three Rwandan ethnic groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa people. The language developed as the cultural identity of these ethnic groups during the 15th century, following close interaction among the three.

Being an official language, Kinyarwanda is used as a medium of instruction in Rwandan institutions, administration, in media, and commerce for daily business transactions. Since Rwanda is a former Belgian colony, it adopted French as an official language. However, despite being the colonial language, only about 0. The Rwandan genocide of negatively affected the status of the language among the Rwandese people, leading to its slow replacement by English.

The involvement of the French in the genocide triggered efforts by the Rwandese people to detach themselves completely from the French and francophone influences. French-English bilingualism, adopted by the Rwanda elite, is the true social marker, but French maintains a noble image. Bilingualism is simple pragmatism for a small country seeking to grow, to extend its influence and ties, argued Mushikiwabo: "The omnipresence of English is perhaps inevitable, but that does not mean that the French language can not assert its advantages, its assets.

We have to keep both, that would be a huge asset for us. The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore. ON TV. On social media. Who are we? Fight the Fake.

Since taking power, the RPF has operated with a sense of urgency to develop the country. This urgency has enabled high economic growth rates and has allowed the government to build more classrooms and get more children in school. Too often, though, policy decisions on education appear to be made impulsively. Previous orders are reversed, and key officials are replaced with little planning or notice.

Since the RPF took power, the government has cycled through 14 ministers of education. The most recent change at the top of the Ministry of Education came just months after the announcement that English was once again replacing Kinyarwanda—a move that nobody saw coming. This was a directive. To make matters more challenging, school closures due to COVID have meant the language shift is not even the most pressing concern facing education officials today.

Now, with the school year effectively cancelled due to the pandemic, education officials have been scrambling to absorb the double cohort of first graders as the new school year begins. Many people I spoke with for this article said they privately hoped the COVID pandemic and other pressing priorities would mean the language shift might be delayed or even swept aside altogether.

But that was not the case. Last August, I contacted the Ministry of Education to ask what the rush was to implement the change, especially during the pandemic. This will allow the system to continuously refine the use of English as a medium of instruction at all levels.

Now that most schools have reopened, children continue to study in the shadows of a policy environment where instructional languages can change from one year to the next without adequate planning or support. For teachers and students, particularly those in poorer rural areas where only Kinyarwanda is spoken, they have little choice but to adapt as well as they can.

Timothy P.