The bishops of Rwanda and Burundi, gathered under the umbrella body of the Association of Bishops of Rwanda and Burundi (ACOREB), have resolved to implement the Global and African Educational Pacts in Catholic schools of both countries. They reached this decision at the end of their recent plenary meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
Professor Jean-Paul Niyigena – Kigali The Churches of Burundi and Rwanda have a broad network of Catholic schools that serve all educational levels. These include preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, technical schools, and multiple tertiary institutions such as universities. By this resolution, the bishops answer Pope Leo XIV's call to evaluate the mission of Catholic schools in Africa, taking into account the continent's many challenges. Many African political leaders have attended Catholic schools, making this call to action even more timely. Catholic Education for Social Transformation The bishops want Catholic education in their countries to be based on teaching human and Christian values, which they said are now weaker in the Great Lakes region. "With the African Educational Pact as guidance, the Church must promote comprehensive education, covering knowledge, character, and service," the bishops affirmed. They then committed to improving education quality by teaching young people to value every person and care for the vulnerable. To this end, the bishops of both countries wish to undertake as soon as possible a thorough assessment of their educational systems, in the hope of "making Catholic education a genuine lever for social transformation" in their respective countries. This process will notably take the form of General Assemblies of Catholic Education, which the two sister Churches plan to organise in the near future. A Broader Initiative Across the Continent Furthermore, the bishops intend to mobilise the entire Catholic educational community around the Global Educational Pact and the African Educational Pact. They have set two short-term objectives: to ensure the dissemination of this ecclesiastical convention and to establish a commission to develop the necessary guidelines for its implementation. The joint episcopal meeting of the Bishops of Rwanda and Burundi, was presided over by Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, the Archbishop of Kigali, and Bishop Joachim Ntahondereye, of the Diocese of Muyinga in Burundi. Implementing the Global Educational Pact and the African Educational Pact follows efforts already undertaken by other African episcopal conferences, including those of Nigeria and the Central African Republic.