Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
Youth in Rwanda in 1962, the new government implemented free and obligatory primary education and kept the colonial system of education intact. Today, the Ministry of Education oversees all public education programs in the country and works "to transform the Rwandese citizen into skilled human capital for socio-economic development of the country by ensuring equitable access to quality education focusing on combating illiteracy, promotion of science and technology, critical thinking and positive values." After 1994, public services had to be recreated and re-imagined to work towards the new goals and ideals of Rwanda. The public pre-primary to secondary education system in Rwanda is