Rwandan scholars led by the Minister of Education, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, on Thursday, concluded their two-week long visit to US universities.

The visit aimed at reviewing existing partnerships with several universities and also to explore the possibility of launching new joint ventures.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, yesterday, in a phone interview, Habumuremyi said that the visit was as successful as they had planned.

"We visited eight universities and they all agreed to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to advance quality education in our higher institutions of learning,” he stated.

Habumuremyi mentioned that all the institutions they visited agreed to provide 100 percent tuition fee waiver to Rwandan students studying there as long as Rwanda is able to cover the other remaining costs like accommodation, meals, among others.

"We also met Rwandan students studying in those universities and their lecturers were full of praise for Rwandan students saying that they are performing well in class,” he noted.

The Minister of Education asserted that he was impressed by the Rwandan students who have established student union clubs that promote Rwandan culture.

He stated that the institutions visited yielded promising results, and he is looking forward to deepening the relationship with them in terms of promoting quality education in Rwanda.

Habumuremyi’s delegation included the Rector of Kigali Institute of Science and Technology Dr. Jeanne D’Arc Mujawamariya, Prof. Silas Lwakabamba, Rector of the National University of Rwanda, Fr Dr. Deogratias Niyibizi Rector of Ruhengeri Institute of Higher Education (INES).

Others are Mike Hughes, Advisor Science and Technology in the Ministry of Education, and Desire Gacinya, Director of Student Loan Recovery in Rwanda Examination Board. The group was also accompanied by two officials from the Rwanda Embassy in the US.

The institutions visited include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Universities of Maryland, Carnegie Mellon and William Penn, Hendrix College Consortium, University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR), Oklahoma Christian University, California Baptist University and the University of Rochester.

Ends