Rwanda: South Korean volunteer faces criticism

Working at the Teacher Training Department of the board, she has taught piano to school teachers since April 2016, as all public primary schools in the country have at least two digital pianos.

After the inclusion of music in the curriculum for primary schools in 2015, Korean firm Booyoung donated 2 000 digital pianos to the government of Rwanda. But most have remained unused because of a lack of professionals who can play and teach the instrument. And last month the REB partnered with KOICA to strengthen music education through the Piano Based Music Education (PBM) programme.

“First of all, because music is an optional subject, there have not been any tests and there are no music teachers at the schools,” Kim told a Korean publication during a short visit home last week.

“The teachers who are training now are also English or mathsa teachers and they only teach music when they have the time. Because music education in the country does not directly aid in economic development, it has been placed lower on the priority list.”

However, not everyone believes Kim genuinely seeks to help promote music education in Rwanda. There is some criticism targetting Korean overseas volunteer programmes because many young Koreans join these programmes to get specifications for career advancement. But Kim, said: "As long as volunteers remember that everyone is their equal, anyone who volunteers with passion will be of assistance."