UR restructuring should be conducted carefully

Editor, RE: “University of Rwanda faulted over latest reforms” (The New Times, September 15). The decision-makers of this institution have no clue what they are really doing. They are so detached from the reality of Rwanda, they even think it’s normal to charge a Rwandan student Rwf1.5 million per year! How on earth did we get at this point? John *** Some sour grapes here. In my opinion, the University of Rwanda (UR) is the kitchen for the nation. The chefs (faculty and leaders) in there understand best the recipe, the best methods, the best flavors. In the interest of freedom in academia, UR cannot be entangled in such complex bureaucracy – an update letter with justification to HEC (High Examination Council) should be enough. Sit down and talk to each other. Josephine Malonza *** Obviously, compliance with regulations is necessary for all. However, the move to relocate activities to achieve rationalization for the University of Rwanda to achieve the stated objectives (seeking to reduce costs and overlaps, and increase efficiency) should be supported by all, especially considering the nature of complex background it is coming from – merging of different institutions, each having a different culture and aspirations. Harmonising its activities requires a lot of sober brains, and probably they are getting there. Donart *** I salute HEC’s move. I would suggest the high authority of our country to instruct and put all these UR reforms on hold. We need people who understand the socio-economic realities of Rwanda and who actually care about the future of our youth, not just reforms for the sake of reforms. You don’t get up one morning and tell a student in Huye to move to Kigali next month and that the school fees have doubled. How about the lecturers? Have they even been consulted? The answer is NO. For the UR top administration, people are just numbers that they play with in an MS Excel file and reallocate to balance campuses. Wrong, very wrong and dangerous. Pat

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UR restructuring should be conducted carefully