Category: Education

{The Minister of Education, Dr. Musafiri Papias Malimba has said that overcrowding at higher learning institutions and public universities emanates from poor organization of courses, ordering students’ exposure to lecturers for 80% time the course is supposed to last and relenting in the implementation of government’s program of embracing technology in education. }

Minister Musafiri made the observations yesterday in a discussion with Rwanda’s Senate Commission in charge of Social Welfare and Human Rights on problems that emerged in the assessment conducted to identify the role of universities in fast-tracking national development.

The president of Senate Commission in charge of Social Welfare and Human Rights, Galican Niyongana said that the assessment found the problem of overcrowding in higher learning institutions and universities along with inadequacy of materials, inadequate financial means in carrying out research and shortage of school curricula for vocational courses among others.

Commenting on the matter of overcrowding, Minister Musafiri explained that the number of students is not worrying rather the matter is self inflicted by schools.

“The kind of worrying overcrowding is the large number of students outnumbering needed equipments in the laboratory. This is where we need to put much effort and government of Rwanda will not invest in constructing more buildings at the University of Rwanda because even existing buildings are not exploited at 70%,”he said.

Senator Mukankusi Perrine said that they once found a lecture attended by 200 or 300 students and even more but Minister Musafiri said “The University inflicts in itself such problems. If we use properly existing infrastructures, it can be possible to teach students not beyond 80 in one class. However it will be possible if we change our thinking whether among lecturers, students or management.”

“Go and supervise the program under which courses are offered at the University of Rwanda. You will find courses starting at 8:00 hours and the last hour of closing courses is 16:00 hours. Since then they close from such hours till the next day. In such hours infrastructures are not exploited,” said Musafiri.

He explained that a class of 210 students can be divided into three groups and extend learning hours to the night and even prolong learning days other than closing on Friday.

He said that nowadays the period of studies takes at least 30 out 50 weeks of the year and wondered what is done during the remaining 20 weeks as teachers get their salaries.

Relenting the implementation of technology in education is also another problem.The government of Rwanda had vowed in April 2016 that 60% of courses should be delivered through the use of ICT. Doing so is expected to reduce the overcrowding in class since a student with internet connectivity can learn from elsewhere without necessarily getting to the lecture theater.

{The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), Esperance Nyirasafari has advised girls to make a good use of government program of taking up vocational training for skills that will enable them create own jobs. }

She gave the advice yesterday during the conclusion of a two-week campaign dubbed ‘TVET Girl mu myuga turashoboye’ aimed at encouraging girls to attend vocational trainings and calling upon parents to moving away from the belief that a girl child shouldn’t venture into vocational training.

The government targets to increase by three-fold the number of girls and women with vocational skills by 2020.

Statistics indicate that only 17% of women and girls study Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) while those attending vocational skills trainings are 42%.

During the campaign, girls who have already earned vocational skills and practicing, toured the country mobilizing their peers to follow suit and encouraging parents to encourage girls to attend TVET to foster job creation and innovations.

“Your government has all possible programs meant to support you. Don’t neglect any profession .It will keep you away from falling under temptations and enable you make earnings other than waiting for handouts,” she said.

The State Minister in Charge of TVET at the Ministry of Education, Olivier Rwamukwaya said that there is still a gap of girls in TVET schools and at the labour market.

He urged girls to consider vocational skills as a path towards job creation.

One of the TVET female students from IPRC West, Marie Josee Umuhoza a said the mobilization will help attract more female learners into the profession.

{Mahatma Gandhi University Rwanda launched its new volumes of academic textbooks and self-learning modules on ICT integrating today’s rapidly advancing technologies.}

In his statement, MGUR Chancellor and Founder, Dr. Rajan Chopra said “in view of His Excellency, President Paul Kagame’s government efforts in achieving Vision 2020, we are taking bold steps to invest on improving our academic materials to provide the skills that are core in achieving the goal of transforming the nation’s agriculture-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. We are going to stride further by issuing not only quality textbooks but as well as laptops to students that will help them improve their ICT skills.”

MGUR Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Vince Sinining added “MGUR is working towards becoming the Center of Excellence in Online and Distance Learning, providing working people access to higher education, anytime, anywhere. We are also working on providing in-service training tour lecturers and tutors to improve ‘teaching and learning’ using online resources, as well as hands-on training.”

The Honorable Minister of Education, Dr. |Papias Musafiri Malimba served as the Guest of Honor. He said “this is an important occasion that the Ministry of Education supports as the government places ICT at the forefront of the country’s efforts towards achieving Vision 2020. Like Mahatma Gandhi University Rwanda, we are confident that Higher Education Institutions in Rwanda will continue to play their significant roles in utilizing ICT in today’s advancing technologies and provide our students the necessary skills to be competitive.”

After the book launch, special scholarships were awarded to two rising singing stars in Rwanda — Yvan Buravan and Andy Bumuntu, who will be studying Mass Communication with specialization in audio-video production related to their career in the performing arts.

Two students today, were also award laptops — Karemera David and Byukusenge Muriel.

Dr. Rajan Chopra also awarded “Special Achievement Awards” to individuals in various fields—Education, Banking, Public Service, Non-profit Organization, Media, TV, and the Performing Arts.

{The Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) cemented its cooperation with two premier Korean institutions to help Sub-Saharan Africa build its capacity in science and technology fields. }

At a recent meeting on November 27, 2016 in Kigali, the PASET Board of Directors welcomed the Korean Development Institute (KDI) as a full member, recognizing the great support provided by the institute to building a stronger African workforce in science and technology fields.

The Board includes Ministers from Governments of Rwanda, Senegal, Ethiopia, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire, as well as representatives from the World Bank, which facilitates the Partnership.

Prior to the meeting, PASET signed agreements with Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Maastricht University from the Netherlands to improve the quality of PhD programs in African institutions selected under its flagship initiative, the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF). Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU) is expected to sign a similar agreement in coming weeks.

PASET was launched in 2013 by African governments to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge in ASET fields, and to build African institutions’ capacity to train high quality technicians, engineers and scientists. Since then, over 20 African countries, the private sector, as well as representatives of Brazil, China, India and Korea have participated in its activities. The governments of Senegal, Rwanda and Ethiopia have taken the lead by seeding the RSIF, and have been joined by Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire.

Hon. Dr. Papias Musafiri Malimba, Rwanda’s Minister for Education, welcomed the PASET Board to Kigali and said he is delighted with PASET’s progress thus far. “We see PASET’s partnership with Korea as a great milestone in our quest to build African universities into regional centers of scientific innovation,” he said. “Sub-Saharan Africa can learn a lot from Korea’s unique path to development, and Rwanda, along with its African partners, is ready to implement these lessons by growing its investment in higher education in ASET fields.”

The Government of Korea has been an enthusiastic supporter of PASET since its inception, actively engaging in knowledge sharing at its regional forums, especially through KDI which facilitated PASET’s connections with KIST and SNU. KDI also launched a 3-year Knowledge Sharing Program to strengthen some PASET member countries’ policy-making capacity in human resources development in science and technology.

“At the current pace of technology development and transfer, combined with the spread of the global community, countries cannot achieve development in isolation,” said Joon-Kyung Kim, President of KDI. “For years KDI has brought together government personnel from developing countries to study in Korea and share our development experience. We are proud to now be a part of PASET’s journey to train next generation leaders in Africa.”

Both KIST and SNU have extensive experience in enhancing global scientific research capabilities. Their collaboration with PASET, accompanied by Maastricht University, would help build a critical mass of African researchers and personnel through PhD training, exchange of researchers, joint innovation projects, and capacity development for African universities.

Dr. Byung Gwon Lee, President of KIST, said that PASET provides a unique opportunity to Korea and its African partners in forming “a mutually beneficial partnership, based on understanding, trust, and a desire to share scientific knowledge.”

{{Updates on PASET’s progress and governance}}

The Board meeting also shared updates with members on progress against its annual work plan goals, specifically on the operationalization of the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund. The RSIF envisages a 2-stage competitive selection of African universities, followed by selection of PhD scholars. An independent evaluation of university proposals is now complete, and final university names will be announced in coming weeks. The first cohort of scholars will be admitted around September 2017. Meanwhile, the selected universities will strengthen their PhD programs through joint curriculum development and faculty training projects with KIST, Maastricht University, SNU and other international partners.

Also at the meeting, the Board approved 10 members for PASET’s Consultative Advisory Group, a voluntary group of expert advisors. These include African and non-African experts with experience in leading ASET programs in higher education and technical-vocational education, as well as private sector representatives. Additionally, the Board reviewed a strategy to mobilize the private sector to support PASET’s objectives through training, research and innovation support. Proposals for developing regional TVET centers of excellence, another PASET initiative, and the next PASET forum were also finalized. Kenya will host the next forum in April 2017.

“This meeting marked several new leaps forward by PASET, which is now fully off the ground,” Professor Aminata Sall Diallo, head of PASET’s Executive Committee, concluded. “Our new partners and members will bring us closer to achieving our goal of building African universities into regional powerhouses of science and technology resources for the continent. We eagerly look forward to working with them.”

{Kizib – Inside a red-brick building with a tin roof in western Rwanda, a group of young people are hard at work studying for a US-accredited university degree.}

But these are no ordinary students: they are Congolese refugees for whom such a qualification could spell an escape from stateless limbo.

Over the past year, a Rwandan charity called Kepler has been offering refugees in Kiziba camp the chance to take online degree courses from the Southern New Hampshire University in the United States.

Since the mid-1990s, Kiziba has housed thousands of refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is currently home to 17 000 people, some of whom were born and raised in the camp.

Until recently a university degree was an impossible dream with local fees at a Rwandan university costing up to $1 200 a year, well beyond the reach of young refugees.

And even if they did get the money, the country’s main universities are all in the capital Kigali, which is a three-hour drive from this isolated hilltop camp.

But this year, a group of 25 refugees all in their 20s began studying communications and management.

“Before finishing high school, I had no hope of going to university but now I see it’s possible!” enthuses Eugenie Manirafasha, who was just six months old when her family fled to Rwanda in 1996.

Now she is one step closer to realising her ambition of becoming a hospital director.

{{Education for freedom }}

The refugees follow an online version of the US course but at a less demanding pace, allowing them up to five years to complete the degree, with much of the first year devoted to getting their spoken and written English up to scratch.

Access to higher education “is very important for refugees all over the world,” says Nina Weaver, who runs Kepler’s educational programmes.

Even more so in Rwanda where refugees “have the right to work and to move around freely which is not the case in many other countries,” she says.

Having a degree gives them “an opportunity to integrate better” into Rwandan society, as well as a way to “give back” to the country that has taken them in, Weaver explains.

A university education also offers them an escape route from dependence on charity handouts, says Mark Roeder of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

“Tertiary education is one way to make refugees independent,” he said. “It gives a boost to (the) refugee mentality and gives them hope they are not being forgotten by the international community.”

{With six months remaining to launch its branch in Rwanda, the African Leadership University (ALU) has started orienting potential students and parents to its teaching methodology.}

Based in Mauritius, its branch in Rwanda will be the second in Africa expected to substantially boost quality education and equip its graduates with job-relevant and leadership skills.

In an exclusive interview with IGIHE yesterday evening on the sidelines of the orientation event, held at Kigali Heights, Veda Sunassee, the Director of Student Life in Mauritius campus who will be the head of ALU Rwanda campus, revealed that the university will launch in Rwanda in May 2017 to provide Rwandans with right skills for job market.

The curriculum will have similar course units with those in Cambridge of Massachusetts in United States.

Vedas explained that the orientation process is meant to explain to stakeholders how higher education should be delivered to meet job market requirements.

ALU Rwanda campus will operate on the second floor of the newly constructed building of Kigali Heights.

“Our programs at ALU are designed around bridging skills’ gaps. We will bring our innovative program and any model that will enable us to teach Rwandan youth that applied to join our university to learn important skills that employers from across the continent have identified as very essential. For that I believe we will be able to empower Rwandan youth with the right skills to join the market force and become very productive ,” he added.

Veda explained that ALU has very high academic standards, lecturers with experience in professional corporate world from some of the World’s best universities like Harvard and Massachusetts.

He unveiled that bringing ALU to Rwanda will not only benefit students but also nationals who will be hired and trained to work as facilitators in courses of ALU Rwanda programs.

{{Rwanda as a perfect place to establish the university }}

Talking on the motive of bringing ALU to Rwanda, Veda said “Rwanda has proven to be extremely welcoming and innovative in the way it is thinking about revolutionizing higher education. We believe that it is a perfect place for us to bring operations,” he said.

Courses like engineering will last four years and 3 years for social sciences.

Veda said that the university will receive students with good academic performance and having demonstrated contribution to their communities.

He explained that they have come up with a very innovative financing model, called Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) which will help to make education available to people with limited financial means to attend the university.

“We have a financial aid program to assess students’ ability to pay and how much they can contribute to their learning and can obtain the rest through a cost sharing agreement,” he said.

{{Stakeholders speak out }}

According to Lea Umurerwa studying electrical engineering at ALU in Mauritius, the university’s coming to Rwanda signifies a great impact to Rwandans since students will benefit from high quality education with competitive skills.

“ALU provides leadership, and entrepreneurial management and problem solving,” she said.

“We think we can compete at the labor market. I am currently interning at Tigo Rwanda in digital marketing while other colleagues are working with banks, Rwanda Online and RDB among other institutions. We complete courses with long standing experience since we study eight months and have four months of internship each year. So graduates are already integrated into the corporate world,” she added.

Annick La Reine Shimwa another student at ALU in Mauritius explained that ALU staff enhance social interactive skills and follow up students individually and respect cultural diversity.

Dushime Jonathan who has already registered online says he is glad to be equipped with leadership skills.

According to Umutangana Marie Aime Jacqueline, a mother of a student at ALU in Mauritius says she has seen growth of her daughter’s intellectual capacity and social interactive skills since she joined the university.

“My daughter went to study at ALU after Gashora Girls School. She was not interactive enough but we saw big changes as she returned home for internship. She is sharp with extremely improved social interactive skills emanating from acquired diversified education. She has become innovative to the extent that we saw her organizing an event bringing students together to demonstrate various artistic talents.”
ALU will be the 33rd university in Rwanda.