The Minister of Education, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, has urged institutions of higher learning to ensure that students receive quality education.

The Minister said this, Tuesday, while officiating at the first graduation ceremony at Byumba Polytechnic Institute (IPB), where over 240 students graduated in various disciplines.

"In order to equip students with better knowledge and skills that will enable them compete for jobs in the region, there is need for universities to look for good competent lecturers,” said Habumuremyi.

He encouraged the institutions to partner with local and foreign universities to exchange ideas to improve education.

Habumuremyi further called on the new graduates to be disciplined, saying degrees cannot be of any help to them if they are undisciplined.

He also urged them to focus on creating their own jobs other than being job seekers.

The students graduated with degrees in various disciplines, including accounting, rural development and social work.

The Rector of IPB, Prof. Faustin Nyombayire, said they had churned out competitive and skilled human resource basing on the country’s ambition to be a  knowledge-based economy. He attributed this to the good lecturers at the institute.

Nyombayire cited insufficient space for expansion among their challenges, an issue the minister promised to address.

During the ceremony, the institute management presented an award to President Paul Kagame for his contribution to the institute.

 "The president has done much in seeing this institute reach where it is now and therefore we acknowledge him for that,” said Nyombayire.

The institute’s management also awarded the best students with various gifts. The best student walked away with a laptop.

IPB was registered by the Ministry of Education in 2004 and got full accreditation last year. It is a community institution, supported by both the Byumba Catholic Church and Anglican Church.

Ends