The premises of Hope Kids Academy, which opens on October 8. The New Times / Timothy Kisambira.
Hope Kids Academy, an international Turkish school, has opened its branch in the country under a Rwandan-Turkish framework.
The school is located in Nyarutarama, Gasabo District.
Speaking with The New Times yesterday, Isa Gokturk Yilmaz, the Headmaster of the school, said studies will commence on October 8, adding that from Nursery one to two, each kid will be paying a registration fee of Rwf125, 000, and tuition of Rwf1.3 million per term.
Foreign students will pay a tuition fee of Rwf1.136, 000, he added.
He added that Rwandan pupils, from Primary one to three, will be paying Rwf1.4 million per term in tuition, while foreign pupils will pay Rwf1, 460,000.
“The idea is to give Rwandan children an international exposure, but ensure they retain their culture,” Yilmaz said.
He said the school will be offering Cambridge primary International programme with a strong emphasis on science, Mathematics, ICT teaching with smart boards.
The school, which will use English as a medium of instruction, has already recruited 11 teachers, will also teach several languages including French and Turkish.
According to the schools administration, each nursery and primary class will have between eight and 12 pupils.
Yilmaz the decision to open the school came after a visit to Turkey by President Paul Kagame earlier this year. “The two countries enjoy a brotherly relation”.
Rwanda and Turkey last month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that provides for a cooperation framework between the two countries.
The MOU was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation,
Louise Mushikiwabo and the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Besir
Atalay, during the latter’s visit to Rwanda.
Although its tuition means the school will be out of reach for the overwhelming majority of Rwandans, ordinary people have welcomed the development.
Albert Ndemezo, a resident of Kacyiru in Kigali, said the new school will contribute to the development of the country’s education sector.
He said more international businesses should invest in the country.
President of Republic of Benin Dr. Thomas Yayi Boniexpressed his appreciation for the work of Gulen-inspired schools that opened in his country. He said, “It is impossible to neglect such issues as healthcare and education. These schools are strengthening our historic and cultural ties. We look forward to making strategic cooperation with them”. Dr. Boni visited Turkey as part of his work trip organized by TUSKON (the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists) during which he discussed political, economic and business ties between Turkey and the Republic of Benin.
English translation retrieved from fethullah-gulen.net, 11 August 2012, Saturday
Original article [in Turkish] published on Zaman, 10 July 2012, Monday
Although universal schooling has been adopted as a goal by international organizations, bilateral aid agencies, national governments, and non-profit organizations, little sustained international attention has been devoted to the purposes or goals of universal education. What is universal primary and secondary education intended to accomplish?
The project on Universal Basic and Secondary Education (UBASE), based at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recognized a lack of consensus within and among countries and a lack of focused international discussion on the desired content and aims of basic and secondary education.
This book offers views from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America on the purposes of universal education while considering diverse cultures, religions, and professions. It is the first book in which renowned authors from around the world have proposed, considered, and debated goals of basic and secondary education, engaging in a constructive dialogue on one of the most pressing issues facing education today. [1]
The purposes of the report are to stimulate attention to educational goals on the part of individuals, families, educational professionals, community leaders in business, religion, and politics, local governments, national governments, and international organizations, and to provide some starting points for future discussions among the different groups with different agendas that compose any society on the globe. The study is to explore the venues to come up with an Secondary Education model that can be applied in a global prospective in improve the education just in one courtly but internationally. [2]
In the study Joel Cohen have started the research by raising the following questions
What should be the goals of basic and secondary education of high quality?
Which, if any, of these goals should be universal? What does universal mean? What happens when educational goals conflict? What are the meanings of high quality in basic and secondary education? Who decides these questions, and by what process do they decide? How should the quality of decisions about educational goals be evaluated?
The report, Educating All Children: A Global Agenda, [3] by the academy, a Cambridge, Mass. based independent policy research center, outlines an ambitious plan for improving educational access that goes beyond the goals of existing international initiatives, which have long focused on primary education, to include secondary school. [5]
The research suggests that achieving universal primary and secondary education is both urgently needed and feasible. Will the international community commit the necessary economic, human, and political resources? The challenge, say the editors, is “as inspiring and formidable … as any extraterrestrial adventures and far more likely to enrich and improve life on earth.”
Despite the findings, the study by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences said the goal of providing a high-quality education to all children could be achieved at a reasonable cost with more support and funding from governments worldwide. “There’s no question that it’s possible,” said David Bloom, one of the authors of the study. “It’s a question of financial resources and it’s a question of political will.” “We … need to pay much more attention to education access at the secondary level and we need to pay attention to educational quality,” Bloom said. “It’s not just a question of getting kids into schools, it’s also a question of what you do with them once they’re in school.” The study attempted to lay out a vision of what the world would look like, “how much better the world would be if instead of using our resources for military purposes we used them to get every kid in the world into school and provide them with quality education.” [4]
There is no question on the fact that, achieving universal primary and secondary education is both urgently needed and feasible. Will the international community commit the necessary economic, human, and political resources? The main challenge is not financially oriented but rather on the leadership side. It is to have people to dedicate themselves on this cause which is inspiring and formidable … as any extraterrestrial adventures and far more likely to enrich and improve life on earth.
The educational perspective of Fethullah Gulen is the illumination of the mind to science and knowledge, and the lighting of the heart in faith and virtue. This can be accomplished though teachers who are committed to devoting their lives, time and knowledge to teach the younger generations in these educational institutions.
And, the recent findings are speaking about the extraordinary achievement Gulen-inspired school demonstrated so far. There are currently more than 1000 Gulen-inspired schools in more than 110 countries around the world. In the European countries, there are at least a dozen Gulen-inspired schools, and more than 150 smaller educational and cultural centers. Generally, Gulen-inspired schools are low fee schools due to the limited wealth of supporters of these educational projects . [6].
[1]http://belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/publication/19869/international_perspectives_on_the_goals_of_universal_basic_and_secondary_education.html?breadcrumb=%2Fexperts%2F210%2Fowen_r_cote inspired by FG
[2] Cohen, Joel E. and Martin B. Malin, eds. International Perspectives on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary Education. New York: Routledge USA, December 2009.
[3] Cohen, Joel E., David E. Bloom, Martin B. Malin, eds. Educating All Children: A Global Agenda. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, January 2007.
[4] Reuters World falling behind on 2015 education goal Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:15 PM ET By David Alexander
[5] Education Week Worldwide Education Achievable, Study Says Published: January 19, 2007 Vol. 26, Issue 20, Page 16 By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
[6] The Key Factors behind the Success of Gulen-Inspired Schools. Ahmet Polat, Executive Officer of the Australian Intercultural Society.
First of all there no such definition as “Fethullah Gulen schools”. None of the schools have an official affiliation with Fethullah Gulen himself. There is no wayFethullah Gulen himself to involve in the establishment of such large number of schools which are scattered all over the world. And, it is humanly impossible to one person who lives in an isolated, remote region to manage the schools which are in different countries.
The missing part in this ordeal is not recognizing the influence of Fethullah Gulen in the world fast developing county, Turkey.
As the Turkish Secretary of State Davutoglu has mentioned, the biggest potential of Turkey is human capital. Turkey is not known for its everlasting natural resources. Turkey do not possess capital saving that was obtained through exploiting other nations. Turkey has not been known for its resources such as natural gas and oil as well. Nevertheless only one thing – the biggest resource of Turkey is the human capital – well-educated, young, and energetic but the most significantly human resource that is powerful belonging to their country, history and nation.
Fethullah Gulen has been extensively emphasising the importance of working hard to bring the society on to the higher levels of prosperity. In this bookPearls of Wisdom;
“Laziness and attachment to ease are among the major reasons for deprivation and humiliation. Inactive people who have abandoned themselves to (indolent) comfort one day will fall so low that they will expect even their basic necessities to be supplied by others.
For a human being, change and decay are usually slow and silent. Sometimes even a little heedlessness, a slight straying from the “caravan,” can cause a complete collapse and a total loss. However, because those who have fallen see themselves as still on the same line and in the same situation, they do not realize that they have plunged to the bottom of a deep well from a minaret-like peak.
Some people who leave the line of exertion and struggle with a feeling of guilt, which every fugitive and truant is bound to feel, are likely to defend themselves and criticize their friends who continue to serve. It is almost impossible for such people to escape their deviation and return to their original line.”[2]
People who were inspired by Fethullah Gulen have achieved autonomy from state power and has been able to play a significant role in society, the main characteristics of civil society organizations. Turkey is also a country which has undergone an economic transformation in recent years. And, the influence ofFethullah Gulen cannot be underestimated on this aspect of the Turkey’s economic growth.
In his book, Fethullah Gulen writes: “Those who want to reform the world must first reform themselves. If they want to lead others to a better world, they must purify their inner worlds of hatred and jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with virtue. The words of those who cannot control and discipline themselves, and who have not refined their feelings, may seem attractive and insightful at first. However, even if they somehow manage to inspire others, which they sometimes do, the sentiments they arouse will soon wither.” [2]
In addition, thanks to the Turkey-EU Customs Union which came into force in 1996, Turkey has enjoyed customs-free exports to a market of over 500 million people. Apart from EU integration, Turkey is playing a leading role in several international bodies, such as the World Trade Organization, OECD, and Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Turkey has been promoting peace, stability, democracy and economic welfare in its region and beyond. Turkey is one of the three standalone countries, which was declared by the African Union as a strategic partner, after China and India, in January 2008. So far, development projects in 37 African countries have already been conducted. [3]. Turkey is a success story when the majority of the developed countries suffering from the economic turmoil. Today, Turkey is a secular state with no Islamic reference. It offers an open political space that allows for all political ideologies to compete free. [1]
Fethullah Gulen has been trying to encourage generations to come to improve themselves to better people to make their positive impact to the world around themselves... Fethullah Gulen wrote “ the generation who aim to give a better shape to the world should be equipped with mathematical thought. Mathematical thought implies a comprehension of the enigmatic connection between creation and the ‘laws’ of mathematics, and a discovery of the mysterious world of numbers. Without mathematics, it is not possible to perceive the mutual relations between man and things; it is mathematics which, like a source of light, illuminates our way along the line from the universe to life and shows us the depths of the world of possibilities beyond human imagination, thus enabling us to attain our ideals” [4]
