DDE/DEO Workshops

DDE/DEO WORKSHOPS

For the 1st edition of Wavumbuzi in Rwanda, we understood that as a new in-country initiative, school administrators would be hesitant to engage with our recruitment initiatives immediately, without being informed about the Challenge from their District Education Officers and the District Directors of Education, formally endorsing the initiative as a credible programme, approved by the Ministry of Education.

In order to obtain the support and buy-in from District Officers, we invited representatives from all 30 districts to a physical information session to learn more about Wavumbuzi, get a chance to meet the AGGP team and engage fully on our programme vision.

As a result, this workshop was the first and most valuable tactic to kick start the recruitment process of schools. The relationship between Wavumbuzi, DDE/DEOs and their ongoing encouragement of district teachers continued to grow during the course of the Challenge, resulting in a highly influential group of educators who developed a vested interest in the performance and results of the schools within their district.

Logistics of the DDE/DEO Workshops

• The workshop is run and organized by the AGGP Rwanda team (Country Director, Project Manager and Teacher Liaison)

• DDE/DEO Workshop Invitations and communications were prepared by the JMO and were sent via email, with SMS (sent by JMO) + WhatsApp reminders (sent by the Teacher Liaison) following the days thereafter.

• The first DDE/DEO workshop presentation was presented on 11 December 2021.

• A highlight from the workshop included a WhatsApp initiative prepared by the marketing team:

  • In the physical workshop, the DDE/DEOs were told to send a message to the WhatsApp support line and that they would in return receive a link to a District Activation Pack.

  • Find here the draft of the three messages that were sent to DDE/DEOs once they sent the message “Go Rwanda” to the support line.

  • See screenshot below of what was shared on the presentation screen at this stage.

Relationship with the DDE/DEOs following the Workshop

• The relationship with DDE/DEOs is managed by the Teacher Liaison who will build relationships with them and directly engage with them (mostly on WhatsApp).

• The marketing team still supports the Teacher Liaison with a number of items to ensure that we are providing value and keeping the DDE/DEOs updated as to what’s going on.

• Following the workshop, we provide DDE/DEOs with:

  • Weekly WhatsApp updates incl. challenge highlights & important announcements for them to share in their teacher WhatsApp groups (drafted by the JMO)

  • Invite DDE/DEOs to join us on school visits/awarding of students (from their district) - this responsibility sits with the Teacher Liaison

  • Share the DDE/DEO leaderboard with them - this responsibility sits with the Teacher Liaison

  • Invite them to the Wavumbuzi awards ceremony - comms drafted by JMO, shared with the Teacher Liaison who then shares it with the DDE/DEOs.