A big number of employed elites in Rwanda have gone back to school to pursue either master’s degrees or doctorates so as to increase their productivity or to get better employment opportunities.

A visit to any university around town in the evening or during weekends, enables one to see a bee hive of activities involving post graduate students. Most of the people that are seen on such occasions are the working elite who enroll for further studies on either evening or weekend programme. Much as it is a good idea for people to upgrade when they are already employed, there are several challenges associated with it and those involved have to develop courage to be able to graduate.

It is not easy to strike a balance between work and studies given the fact that the two activities are very demanding in terms of time and energy. In the past, it was common for employees to get study leave in order to pursue further studies. The trend has changed whereby one has to work and study at the same time. Employers expect high productivity from the employees and at the same time, the university lecturers expect their students to work hard in order to excel in their studies. Reconciling the two aspects is a daunting task which compels some people to withdraw from their studies prematurely.

My experience is not different either. I have gone through hardships related to working while studying. Before I enrolled for the post-graduate programme, I used to have time to relax on weekends. Being an ardent football fan, I would go to places where I would watch the English premiership games. By the time I started the new week, I felt refreshed and energised. However, the weekend study programme has changed my lifestyle in many ways. I no longer have weekends. I do not see the difference between week days and weekends because all the days of the week keep me busy. This is the price which whoever goes back to the university pays.

Ideally, it is one’s own initiative to enroll for such programmes but what most post-graduate students go through is a nightmare. The programmes demand that one changes his lifestyle to be able to study successfully. For instance, someone who studies on weekend programme has to forget about most of the pleasantries of life like hanging out with friends and visiting relatives and friends. This has to happen for at least one and a half years. There is no time to attend to visitors on weekends and some of our relatives and friends think that we have become anti-social. The situation is worse with the family members who only see us at night on weekends given the fact lectures begin at 8:00am and end at 6:00pm. One needs to have a family of understanding people who know what it means to study on weekends.

People in this category get so much involved in work and studies to the extent that they barely have time to connect with their dear ones. Women suffer more because they even have children to take care of at home though this is a social construct. It is not easy to attend social events like introduction ceremonies and weddings. When such events occur, the post-graduate student looks at lectures vis-à-vis the celebrations and in most cases, he or she would rather miss the social event than the lectures.

My intention is not to lament about what post-graduate students go through and I do not want to discourage those who may want to enroll for similar academic programmes. I just wanted to put the whole experience into perspective so that whoever may be interested in pursuing further studies, prepares himself physically, psychologically and financially to be able to deal with the challenges that come along. It is not a bed of roses. One has to roll up his sleeves to be able to succeed.

However, when you look at it from the top end, you realise that the benefits which come with the attainment of either a master’s degree or a Ph.D are many. As the country continues to transform economically, socially and politically, there is need to have more people with post-graduate qualifications in the various sectors of the government and the economy to consolidate the achievements registered and to increase productivity through research, innovation and creativity.

The gratification that one gets after achieving a higher qualification compensates the hardships experienced. In most cases, people with post-graduate qualifications stand higher chances of getting promoted at their workplaces and they can even get better jobs elsewhere. Moreover, there is increased productivity as a result of the acquisition of more skills at the university and the employers also benefit through increased productivity of their employees.

My advice to those who intend to upgrade is that they should gather the courage and go for it!

The writer is an English Language instructor at Akilah Institute for Women.