Rwanda will from today, be hosting the Africa Regional Higher Education Summit, an international gathering of top academia. The three day seminar attracts scholars from the African continent, the USA and other regions of the world. The significance of such a gathering being held on Rwandan soil needs no emphasis.

The country is on a path of revolutionising its education system, by adopting radical reforms meant to increase literacy as part of its development efforts.

Only an educated nation with high literacy can overcome the insurmountable challenges, wrought by decades of poverty and disease.

Thus, Rwanda’s investment in education starts from the very young still in primary school to the tertiary institution graduate. Only recently Rwanda launched the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, an ambitious project that will ensure every Rwandan child owns a battery powered laptop.

The country boasts of over ten universities, as well as a host of technical education institutions, among other investments in education.

USAID is Rwanda’s important development partner, meaning that the hosting of the summit on Rwandan soil, serves to further cement that relationship in enhancing the country’s efforts at building a solid educational foundation.

The transformative power of education in any society cannot be understated, thus Rwanda’s many achievements in the public and private sectors can only benefit from a literate population, ready to offer not just skills and manpower but also a clear vision on the country’s future.

Discussions centering on the country’s coffee industry will lay a foundation for expanding such initiatives, into other areas of the economy.

The challenge to USAID, other stakeholders like the Aga Khan Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, is for these noble deliberations to build into Rwanda’s efforts in providing education for all her citizens young and old, by the year 2015.

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