Hundreds of former and continuing students from the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology have petitioned parliament complaining of being admitted to study in a programme that has no job prospects.

The course in contention is microbiology - that was introduced only 10 years ago.

Presenting their petition to parliament’s standing committee in charge of education, technology and youth, the students called for an immediate reform or course re-orientation to meet labour market demand.

The students tasked lawmakers to ask government about the effectiveness of the courses which overlap with those offered at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, and whose students are more competitive on the job market.

While a microbiologist can work as bacteriologist; biochemist; biotechnologist; environmental scientists, among other things, Rwanda’s limited labour market in such fields can only absorb lab technicians mainly with medical background.

Emmanuel Nsekanabo, a student in the department said that since the establishment of the Microbiology Department in 2005 at least 350 students graduated but none gets employed in their field.

"So far many alumni are roaming on the streets seeking for alternative jobs, because in all advertised job offers, we never see any calling for a microbiologist, instead they look for lab technicians,” he told parliamentarians.

"Although we believe we are highly qualified to serve as lab-technicians, when we apply for such jobs we are asked to provide a license from a recognised umbrella association, which we cannot get because we qualified from a science field and not medicine related.”

In a drive to establish order an Association of Lab technicians, mostly those in the field of medicine, was created under the auspices of the Ministry of Health to license field practitioners.

However, this has excluded microbiologists.

While students from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences are considered specialists, microbiology students are considered generalists, making them less competitive.

"Transcripts from the two colleges in that particular field are more or less the same, but if we apply for the license, we are told that to qualify we need more extra training which we cannot afford after graduation,” said Ernest Turikumwe a student who has a degree in Microbology.

In an interview with The New Times, Prof. Nelson Ijumba, the Deputy Vice Rector at the University of Rwanda in charge of academic affairs and Research said the university management was aware of the issue and that it has been handling it strategically.

"In a short term solution, we are looking at how enrolled students at the department can get extra skills, which are practical, so that they can qualify to work as accepted lab-technicians, and we are working at it involving the two colleges,” Ijumba said.

"On the other hand, a programme of inter-college curriculum rationalisation is also being drafted to see how in the future, we can avoid duplication of courses.”

Prof. Ijumba further stated that adjustments to the microbiology courses eventually will be made to make sure graduate students match the job market demand.

"There will have to be some changes basically because the courses no longer meet required market demand and standards although we are also helping students to acquire knowledge on entrepreneurship and innovation to create more jobs on the market,” he added.

The Government has also put emphasis on technical and vocational education to enable students have skills that can earn them a living instead of relying on mainstream employment.

The lawmakers assured students that respective entities would be summoned to respond to the issues raised.

"A similar issue was presented earlier and we called on responsible individuals to address it, which is what we are going to do again,” said Agnes Mukazibera, chairperson of the committee.

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