KICUKIRO -  The outgoing Guild President of the School of Finance and Banking (SFB) has requested the government to consider increasing the monthly financial support given to university students so they could fully meet their demands.

Emmanuel Murenzi was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the incoming guild council over the weekend at SFB.

The new Guild committee is composed of twelve members, of which five are females.

"With the present market prices, the Frw25, 000 is not enough for students to run for a month. We are requesting Member of Parliament present here to table our problem to the authorities," Murenzi said while talking about the challenges faced by students.

He added that the new system put in place by the Students Financing Agency of Rwanda (SFAR) to recover the monies given to students caused a delay in the disbursement of funds this year, hence affecting the students’ welfare.

Member of Parliament Connie Bwiza Sekamana who was present at the function said she was not in position to give a personal opinion when approached for a comment on the students’ appeal.

"It goes under several procedures," she said. "There have been changes initiated to improve the social welfare of all Rwandans, especially students. But since the increase in prices has become students’ concern, so it is also the government’s," she explained.

She pointed out that budget constraints was a reality since the citizens’ needs always outweigh the available resources.

Onesphore Taratibu, the new Guild President promised to work with Guild Presidents of other Universities to draw attention of concerned authorities in solving the problem.

He also said that in his term of office, he will ensure that there is improved relationship between SFB and other universities within and outside the country.

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