Google is a popular Web 2.0 tools with many interesting facilities and applications. Like many other Web 2.0 tools, Google classroom has potential for teaching and learning due to its unique built-in functions that offer pedagogical, social and technological affordances. With this in mind, Google classroom as an open-source learning platform created in 2015 to simplify and enhance user collaboration, was considered a prominent technology tool used to enhance teaching and learning at a particular University in Rwanda. This study adopts a quantitative descriptive design to investigate university students' Google classroom experiences in Rwanda after participating in an online STEM education course. Data were collected using questionnaires sent to students via a Google form link. The collected data were analyzed using frequency and descriptive analysis. The study has generally confirmed that students have a positive cognitive, affective, and behavioural attitude towards Google classroom use. The study also revealed immediate feedback, accessibility, user-friendliness, collaboration, effective and efficient communication as positive experiences recognized by students using Google classroom in their online STEM education course. Nevertheless, students faced problems such as poor internet connection, lack of technology to access the classroom, insufficient time to submit tasks, lecturers inadequate and untimely response to students’ questions, isolated learning, poor knowledge about the user interface, inadequate skills on how to use the classroom. To further encourage the use of google classroom particularly as a learning management system in Rwandan universities and other universities across Africa, findings from this study recommends that education institutions provide students and lecturers with adequate training and platform on how to use the google classroom interface, improve ICT infrastructures, lecturers’ use of video chat or asynchronous mode to provide adequate and timely feedback to students within stipulated virtual office hours, ensure quality course content.

The improvement of students’ English proficiency depends on the level of teaching English language and the competency of teachers in teaching career. The purpose of this study therefore, was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ competency in English language and students’ English language proficiency within secondary schools of Karongi in Rwanda. The study adopted correlation research design research design. Data collection tools were questionnaire and interview guide. The target population was 1794 people comprised of 1560 students, 14 Sector Education Officers, 20 Head Teachers, 200 teachers. A simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to get a sample size of 395 respondents. The study findings revealed that majority of the students with a total of 290 (91.2%) agreed that in their school, teachers are not competent enough in English language. Moreover, almost 292 (91.8%) of the respondents agreed that in their school, students English reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency level is low and 70 (90.9%) of key informants agreed that both in public and private secondary schools of Karongi District, students’ English language proficiency level in reading, writing, speaking and listening is low. The correlation results showed the association between between teachers’ inability to teach in English, teachers’ inability to read classroom interactions in English language, teachers’ incompetency in English language, teachers’ inability to express themselves in English language as well as teachers’ inability to develop English language educational materials) and dependent variables (students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening English language proficiency and students’ English language proficiency (reading, writing, speaking and listening English proficiency) is positive. The study recommended the Ministry of Education through Rwanda Basic Education Board to avail enough English teaching and learning materials, including charts, textbooks and dictionaries which are adequate in enhancing English language proficiency mastery among students at an early age. All stakeholders of the education sector are recommended to support English teaching and learning activities in Rwanda, as it is the only and one shortcut for making Rwandans master the English language. Keywords: Teachers’ competency, English Language, English proficiency, Rwanda

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This study assessed the digital skills of female university students and the implications for higher education in Africa. A descriptive survey was used to sample 100 female university students from four African countries (Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda). The instrument used was the digital competence survey. Two research questions and two hypotheses were postulated and tested. According to the study's findings, most female university students in Nigeria and South Africa have expert and advanced levels of information and digital literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and safety.On the other hand, Uganda was mainly found at the basic or no levels, whereas Rwanda was mostly found at the intermediate levels. The chi-square analysis reveals a significant difference between the ages of female university students and their DC levels (χ2 =.000; p < 0.05). A significant difference exists between female university students’ program of study and their levels of DC (χ2 = .000; p < 0.05). Students also faced challenges such as a lack of ICT tools, insufficient knowledge and skills, data issues, and poor internet connectivity. The implications of these findings for African higher education institutions suggest that female students, particularly in Rwanda and Uganda, require training to be digitally competent and compete globally with their peers. As a result, we recommend that students from different programs of study with less demand in technology be allowed to take compulsory electives in technology courses while older female students are given adequate support.