President Paul Kagame has said that low financial capacity should not retard innovative ideas among students, adding that the problem is lack of proper entrepreneurial and developmental skills that matches with the modern society.
The Head of State made the comments yesterday while addressing over 12,000 students and staff of the National University of Rwanda (NUR) at the university stadium in Huye District, Southern Province.
Shortly before addressing the NUR community, President Kagame, officially opened a state-of-the-art ICT laboratory at the University constructed with the support of the Republic of Korea.
Addressing the students, President Kagame said that he was pleased to discuss the role of higher education and its importance to the nation, particularly the contribution of the university community in the transformation of the Rwandan society. He further asked students to work hard since nothing is easy in life.
“Nothing can easily come without working and sweating for it,” he challenged NUR students and staff.
Kagame called upon the students to be innovative and self reliant and capitalise on the newly established ICT laboratory to achieve new and constructive ideas that would help the nation attain sustainable development.
He urged the students to be job creators as the youth of 21st century observing that they should not rely only on their lecturers’ notes ; but should instead engage deeper into research.
The President assured them that the government was behind them adding that it would work closely with the university to meet various challenges. The president said the government considers education as one of the main pillars of development and will continue to invest heavily in the sector.
The Rector of NUR, Prof Silas Lwakabamba, said that the newly inaugurated ICT school would be important in offering ICT courses, adding that it represents a large and Important new resource for staff and students at NUR.
He noted that the structure has 11 laboratories with 400 computers and is the best of its kind in Africa. The facility was equipped at a cost of US$4.7m with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) donating US$4m.
Prof. Lwakabamba commended the Korean government for the continued support, and added that more projects were yet to come, to expand the University infrastructure much needed.
Prior to his speech, the Head of State had listened to the University’s Guild President Hildebrande Niyomungeri read out the challenges the students at the national university face.
Niyomungeri thanked the president for the visit and further commended the head of state for boosting the bursary for Students Financing Agency of Rwanda (SFAR) sponsored students by 70 percent.
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