This young boy at the Jean de la Mennais pre-school in Rwanda’s Burera district is enjoying a book. He does not yet know how to read, but Kinyarwanda, his mother tongue, is the language in which he will learn.

Teaching reading, writing, math and critical thinking in the language that the child speaks and understands is one of the most effective ways to reduce school failure and drop out in the early grades.

The Global Partnership for Education supports mother tongue education as part of a quality education.

Increasing enrollments in pre-primary schools in 22 districts is a key result that the Rwandan government wants to achieve with the help of funding from the Global Partnership for Education.

Find out more about Rwanda's education priorities and progress here.