Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Rwanda is a densely populated country in East Africa. Youth make up a significant portion of the population, and 60% of Rwandans are under the age of 25. Due to the government’s family planning measures, the fertility rate has dropped significantly in recent years, decreasing by about one child per woman per decade. The average rate is 3.5 children per woman. The rate of contraceptive usage has improved fourfold in the past decade; however, usage rates are lower among non-married woman. According to Rwanda’s 2019-2020 Demographic Health Survey, early sexual debut is more common among women who do not have an education. About 5% of young women aged 15–19 have had their first child. Knowledge of HIV has been steadily increasing: 60% of young Rwandans have comprehensive knowledge of HIV and nearly all Rwandans know where to get tested for HIV. Since 2005, Rwanda’s HIV prevalence rate has remained stable at 3%. It is higher for women. 

HIV and life-skills education has been a part of the Rwandan education system since the early 2000s. In 2006, the Rwanda Education Board introduced a competency-based curriculum integrating comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) at the basic education level, from preschool through to secondary school. The curriculum was launched with the goal of reducing adolescent pregnancies and STIs; and to ensure that adolescents are equipped with knowledge and competencies about human rights so that they can make safe and responsible sexual and reproductive health (SRH)-related choices.

Rwanda’s 2003 Constitution (amended in 2015) confers on all Rwandans the right to good health and education. Primary education is both compulsory and free. The constitution also guarantees equal rights for all. Education is governed by Law N° 29/2003 of 30/08/2003, establishing the organization and functioning of nursery, primary and secondary schools. Reproductive health is guaranteed under Law N° 21/05/2016 of 20/05/2016, the Reproductive Health Law. According to this law, every person has the right of access to education and medical services related to human reproductive health. Article 19 specifically provides for human reproductive health education in schools, stating that ‘the educational curricula of different categories of schools and literacy centres must provide courses on human reproductive health’. 

According to the 2003 Education Sector Policy, HIV education is covered from primary to secondary school and must take into account gender differences. Strategies include: the reviewing and revision of the national curriculum and teacher training curriculums to include HIV and life skills modules and courses for all appropriate age groups; the publishing and dissemination of HIV-specific education sector policies, guidelines and codes of practice; the provision of in-service teacher training; and the monitoring and evaluation of interventions with trained provincial and district education officials. 

The 2003 Republic of Rwanda National Youth Policy states that ‘youth should be provided with health education that is adapted to their current challenges if their welfare and physical, mental and social blossoming are to be preserved.’ Access to reproductive health services is emphasized. Specific objectives include to: ‘promote youth health and to provide the youth with practical information as to issues of adolescents reproductive health.’ To that end, the strategy is for the government to ‘build and strengthen capacity for the youth reproductive health education programme.’  

The 2013-2018 Second National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS, extended to 2020, states that ‘adolescents and young adults will be reached in school through school-based sexual health and HIV, STI, and viral hepatitis education and out of school through anti-AIDS clubs for out-of-school youth.’ 

One of the main thematic areas in the 2014 National School Health Strategic Plan is SRH and SRH rights. In this area, schools should strive to be ‘health promoting schools’ which means that students should have ‘access to age appropriate, reliable information on relationships and sexuality and where youth is informed about access to prevention and treatment services for HIV including sexual and reproductive health commodities to prevent them from diseases, adolescent pregnancies and to give them the opportunity to develop their lives to their full potential.’ They must be taught about ‘new vulnerabilities to human rights abuses, particularly in the arenas of sexuality, marriage and childbearing... high risks of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, and complications which result from childbirth.’ Outputs include ensuring that all school children and youth are reached by comprehensive HIV and STIs prevention and control programmes. Furthermore, all adolescents and young adults must have access to user-friendly SRH programmes and services. 

The 2010-2014 National Accelerated Plan for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV argues that SRH education should be prioritized and should help to improve the knowledge of HIV and safe sexual practices among young women, while empowering them to better access condoms and negotiate their use. The Plan recommends for the Ministry of Education to ‘scale-up sexual education for schooling and non-schooling children and youth and promote rights-based learning and empowerment for girls and young women’. 

The 2018/19-2023/24 Education Sector Strategic Plan seeks to educate students on the importance of the environment, hygiene, health and protection against HIV. It also emphasizes the development of life skills and peace education. Planned activities include the increase of the ‘number of teachers trained in gender-responsive pedagogy’ and the use of school clubs as an outlet for gender-awareness activities and to address comprehensive sexual education. 

The 2018-2024 National Family Planning and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (FP/ASRH) Strategic Plan replaced the previous 2012-2016 Family Planning Strategic Plan and the 2011-2015 National Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (ASRH&R) Strategic Plan. The Plan’s main objective is for ‘all women, men, adolescent girls and boys in Rwanda [to] have universal access to quality integrated FP/ASRH information and services in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner.’ Of the six main objectives, two are particularly pertinent: one is to improve the availability of quality youth-friendly family planning and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services; another focuses on awareness raising and community engagement for family planning and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. A related activity is to: ‘Strengthen Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum implementation in schools and out of schools’. 

The 2018-2024 Maternal Newborn and Child Health Strategic Plan seeks to provide all women, children, and adolescents with health services in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. Accountability principles include the ‘rights of adolescent girls to receive access to quality SRH services.’

Teacher preparedness and capacity building: Information was not found. 

Whether teachers are mandated to be trained on provision/delivery of sexuality education either as part of PRESET or INSET: Teachers are not mandated to be trained on the delivery of sexuality education during preservice training. The Sexuality Education programmes are mainly delivered during in-service teacher training programmes. According to the 2003 Education Sector Policy, strategies include the revision of all teacher training courses to include modules on HIV and life skills. The ministry should provide in-service training for all students in teacher training colleges. The 2014 National School Health Strategic Plan calls for at least two teachers per school to be trained and supported on how to teach sexuality education topics. After the introduction of the CSE curriculum, 1,500 deans of studies ‘underwent a three-day training programme on the curriculum and learner-centred teaching methodologies’. In 2022, with the support of UNFPA, UNESCO, the Imbuto Foundation, and the Rwanda Education Board, 70 more master teachers were trained on the delivery of CSE. They will, in turn, share the knowledge with 15,000 more teachers. 

In partnership with the Education Development consultancy, UNESCO trained 40 trainers of teachers to train 470 tutors from all 16 teacher training colleges for pre-service capacity building in Rwanda.