Education in Citizenship or Obedience? The Case of Post-Genocide Rwanda

Abstract

Post-conflict reconstruction conventionally consists of four pillars—security, political, economic, and social. Ideally, all these pillars are interconnected and develop simultaneously to accelerate the reconstruction and make it stable. Rwanda undoubtedly succeeded in many aspects of its post-conflict reconstruction and it is no wonder that it is frequently presented as a model for other African countries recovering from an intrastate conflict. But is this portrayal real? Aren’t there hidden pitfalls which could, in a long-term perspective, reverse the reconstruction into destruction? This paper will address these questions from the very important but usually neglected perspective of the education system, which is an integral part of the social pillar of the reconstruction, and which is perceived as a prerequisite for the development of the country and the reconciliation of different social groups. Through field research conducted in primary schools in Rwanda, the paper suggests that the reform of education after the 1994 Rwandan genocide (and the curriculum in particular) has been politicized and serves as a tool of the current RPF regime, legitimizing its authoritarian practices to establish a uniform and obedient society.