Quality education critical for our economy

Editor, The story “Upgrading quality of Rwandan graduates” (The New Times, July 13) attracted my attention.

Thursday, July 19, 2012
Pupils concentrate on their laptops. The New Times / John Mbanda.

Editor,The story "Upgrading quality of Rwandan graduates” (The New Times, July 13) attracted my attention.It’s indeed true that the number of Rwandan graduates has drastically gone up over the past few years but questions will always be asked whether graduates can perform at the top level in the labour market.I would suggest that Rwanda embraces the system of external examiners. It is depressing that some of these Institutions of Higher Learning have been set up for just earning money.Normally education institutions should not be used as instruments for making a lot of money. We should put up a system where by every student who is earning Bachelors degree should do general examination set by specialized examiners and supervised by the same people so as to improve the quality of education in those institutions of higher learning.We are no longer competing between ourselves as Rwandese but we are exposed in the world market. Hence, we should take strong measures.With these external examiners, the universities and colleges will put more effort in instructing their students to be able to pass examinations; otherwise all students will move to those institutions which will allow them to pass examinations for a degree.Abel HabiyambereKigali