Historian Details How Education Was Used to Prepare Youth for the Genocide

Kigali, 12 August 2026 - Historian and Genocide against the Tutsi survivor Amb. Dr. François Xavier Ngarambe has described how education policies under Rwanda’s First and Second Republics were used to promote discrimination and ethnic hatred, contributing to the conditions that preceded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Speaking in the context of International Youth Day, Ngarambe recalled that discriminatory practices affected Tutsi students for years, including restrictions on access to education and scholarships. He cited 1973, when Hutu students expelled and, in some cases, killed Tutsi classmates, as an example of how ethnic divisions had penetrated schools.

He said the government later incorporated ideological teachings into the education system. According to Ngarambe, Maurice Ntahobali, who was involved in political indoctrination, helped introduce programs intended to shape students according to the ruling MRND party’s ideology. An education reform approved in 1979 and implemented from 1981 under Education Minister Nsekalije further reinforced these policies.

Ngarambe said the reforms restricted access to secondary education, with only a small proportion of primary-school graduates allowed to continue, while many others were directed toward rural vocational programs. He also argued that history and civic education were used to portray Tutsi as enemies and prepare Hutu youth for confrontation.

He identified Ferdinand Nahimana, who later became a leading figure at RTLM, among those involved in organizing such teachings. Nahimana would subsequently play a prominent role in spreading anti-Tutsi propaganda and calls for extermination through the media during the genocide.

Ngarambe contrasted this model with Rwanda’s post-genocide education policy, which he described as focused on equal opportunities, knowledge, skills and human values. He said education should help young people become productive citizens and contribute to building a Rwanda where genocide and ethnic discrimination cannot happen again.