NYAGATARE - Umutara Polytechnic University and the Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS), yesterday signed an agreement worth €180,000 (about Rwf140m) to build the capacity of university lecturers. 
The agreement was signed at the University campus in Nyagatare District. 

The project that is financed by the Belgian Development Agency (BTC) through PSCBS, aims at funding post graduate studies for the university staff. 

According to officials from PSCBS, the collaboration between the two institutions dates back to July 2009, where three academic staff members were supported by BTC through PSCBS to pursue Master’s degrees. 

The new agreement will see about fifteen faculty members at the University pursue Masters’ degrees at Makerere University in Uganda, Kenyan universities and the National University of Rwanda in Butare.  

Speaking before signing the deal, Stella Ford Mugabo, PSCBS Executive Secretary, said that capacity building is in line with the government’s policy.

"PSCBS oversees capacity building in all public institutions and also looks at the government’s annual priorities of building capacities of civil servants,” she said. 

Mugabo added that government invests heavily in human resource capacity building, warning those who are sent for further studies and opt not to come back to serve in public institutions in the country. 

"We have realized this issue at the National University where some students who were facilitated to go for further studies didn’t come back, while those who came back did not serve at the same institutions.

"This time academic staff will sign agreements with their respective institutions obliging them to come back and work for them,” she added. 

The University Vice rector in charge of academics, Dr, Eugene Ndabaga, who represented the Rector, thanked PSCBS and the government for their initiatives in human resource capacity building. 

"We thank PSCBS, BTC and the Government in particular for this important offer. The 15 staff members of our institution you are facilitating will take us three quarters of where we want to be,” he said. 

BTC representative, Patrick Gaudissart, said that the cooperation between Belgian Government and Rwanda this year focuses on the sectors of health, governance and education. 

"Belgian government’s support to Rwanda is as a result of what the country demonstrates everyday; very high level of ownership over its development agenda and the progress that has been made in many sectors,” he said.

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