EAC Inter-university council law set for September

An act of the Community to establish the Inter-University Council for East Africa is expected to be passed during the annual East African Legislative Assembly sitting in Kigali in September. In its operational arrangements, the bill provides for harmonization of the education syllabi, training standards and certification which currently differ among partner states. The bill also establishes a council which will ensure development of a comprehensive electronic network linking member universities, collaborating research and development programmes and establishment of quality assurance within the community. “This council has been in existence but we want to improve it and put it above the super national jurisdiction to manage these institutions. We want to put in place a regional arrangement that will monitor, evaluate and co-ordinate the education system in the region,” said Honorable Lydia Wanyoto, the Ugandan representative in the East African Legislative Assembly, who also chairs the committee on the Inter–University Council Bill in an interview with The New Times. “We also want to harmonize the education system within the new members of the community, Rwanda and Burundi, which are still French oriented. We are beginning at the tertiary level because it is easier since universities offer almost the same programs. Primary and secondary level may take awhile because the different countries have completely different systems,” Hon. Wanyoto explained. The council will also check the quality of private universities which are at present,more than government universities. “We need to develop our human capacity as a region because this will increase our competitiveness. It is not enough to have economic integration. The community must have people with quality skills and knowledge,” she underscored. The East African community, in its Development Strategy 2001-2005, perceived the development of the human resource by partner states to be one of the fundamental bases for sustainable development. The Inter–University Council currently has its headquarters in Kampala. Ends

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EAC Inter-university council law set for September