A 16-year-old S4 Rwandan student from Cornerstone Leadership Academy, won $300 in a highly competitive East African Essay writing competition.Maurice Mwiseneza emerged the overall winner in Rwanda and fourth at EAC level, after presenting his essay on the role of infrastructural development in the fast-tracking of the East African Community (EAC). The winner came from Tanzania, followed by Kenya and Uganda in that order. All the winners were announced last week in Kigali.Cornerstone Leadership Academy Rwanda also received $1,500.“Infrastructure development will fast-track free movement of goods and services, thus facilitating economic growth,” Mwiseneza said at the award ceremony in the City of Kigali.Meanwhile, five Rwandan institutions that qualified as Centres of Excellence in East Africa were also recognised in Kigali on Thursday.They are University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology (former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Tumba College of Technology, Rwanda National Examination Council, Institute of science and Technology and Research, and Rwanda National Museum Institute. Rwanda emerged the overall winner with five institutions, followed by Kenya with four institutions, Uganda with three institutions and Tanzania and Burundi with two institutions each.The call from the East African Community Secretariat for Partner States to apply for regional Centres of Excellence was made in 2009. It aimed at promoting Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), tertiary education Institutions, Universities, Research, ICT, culture, language and tourism, within in EAC.Rwanda submitted six institutions from which the five were selected. Jacqueline Muhongayire, the minister for East African Community affairs, said the awards are in line with the recognition of the great work the institutions of learning are doing towards integration process.
