{"id":122166,"date":"2026-04-17T15:28:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/pastor-rutayisire-recounts-cost-of-divisionism-on-education"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:38:33","slug":"pastor-rutayisire-recounts-cost-of-divisionism-on-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/pastor-rutayisire-recounts-cost-of-divisionism-on-education","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Rutayisire recounts cost of divisionism on education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Anglican pastor and former educator Antoine Rutayisire has shared a personal account of how divisionism in Rwanda\u2019s education system pre-1994 disrupted the life and career of Tutsi. He lost his university lecturing position.<\/p>\n

Rutayisire, 68, gave the testimony on April 16 during the 32nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in an event organised by the Ministry of Education. The ministry commemorated 77 former employees, teachers, and students killed during the Genocide.<\/p>\n

Minister of Education Joseph Nsengimana delivers his remarks at the commemoration event.<\/p>\n

Rutayisire traced his first encounters with divisionism back to 1961 when his father, a businessman who used to get goods from Uganda using a bicycle, was attacked, their property looted, before he was killed in 1963.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, we were told he had gone to Uganda to get goods and would return. Years passed without answers,\u201d Rutayisire recalled.<\/p>\n

Mourners observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to victims at Kigali Genocide Memorial.<\/p>\n

He remembered waiting eagerly for his father\u2019s return, not only for his presence, but for the sweets he used to bring home. \u201cI missed the sweets, but he never came back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The trauma deepened when he started school. During enrollment, his mother was interrogated about his father\u2019s whereabouts and death in front of him, an experience that left lasting emotional scars.<\/p>\n

Officials and workers from Ministry of Education during the commemoration<\/p>\n

Discrimination in the classroom<\/p>\n

Rutayisire described how ethnic discrimination became evident in primary school. In Primary Two, students were asked to identify themselves by ethnic group, Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa, introducing division at an early age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were only a few Tutsi in a class dominated by Hutu students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He recounted incidents where top-performing students like himself were rewarded, but also targeted. Fellow pupils wrote threatening messages, referring to him and his sister as \u201csnakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat children learn from teachers stays with them. Education can shape or destroy a society,\u201d Rutayisire noted.<\/p>\n

Barriers to education and opportunity<\/p>\n

Despite excelling academically, Rutayisire said advancement opportunities were heavily restricted for Tutsi students.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo move from primary to secondary school, you had to be exceptionally brilliant,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

He later went to a seminary but experienced further instability during the early 1970s, when violence and expulsions of Tutsi students intensified.<\/p>\n

Following the 1973 coup led by Juve\u0301nal Habyarimana, he said conditions temporarily improved, allowing him to complete his studies.<\/p>\n

However, discrimination persisted. After graduating, Rutayisire was denied a government scholarship despite strong academic performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cA ministry official looked at my documents, then at my ID showing my ethnicity, and threw them away,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

A career derailed<\/p>\n

Though he eventually secured a scholarship and completed university with distinction\u2014earning top grades and qualifying as a youngest university lecturer, his career faced another setback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received a letter stating that, due to government reasons, I was no longer a university lecturer and had been transferred to teach in secondary school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Efforts by the university to reverse the decision failed.<\/p>\n

He later pursued further studies and obtained a master\u2019s degree in education in the United Kingdom after an external examiner recognised his academic level.<\/p>\n

Still, upon returning, he was sent back to teach in secondary school in Rulindo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sat with a master\u2019s degree for five years, teaching in the lower secondary school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even promotions were blocked. When his headteacher recommended him for a leadership role as Director of Studies, the ministry refused to approve the appointment without explanation.<\/p>\n

A hopeful present<\/p>\n

Rutayisire described the education system of that era as one that \u201cfuelled, used, and sustained divisionism,\u201d particularly affecting intellectuals and educators. He reflected on the post-Genocide rebuilding of the country which has eliminated discrimination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes me happy today is that my daughter is a university lecturer, the youngest in her department. She is given the opportunity I was denied,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He commended current efforts to promote merit-based opportunities and unity among younger generations.<\/p>\n

aufitiwabo@newtimesrwanda.com<\/p>\n\r\n