Senators summon Minister over Unilak

KIGALI - The new education minister, Dr.Daphrose Gahakwa is to appear before the Senate plenary session to explain why Université Laïque Adventiste de Kigali (Unilak) should not be accredited. The minister’s summon comes months after the management of Unilak, a city-based private university, petitioned the Senate to intervene and resolve the standoff. Close to 5,103 Unilak students have been trapped in a longstanding wrangle between the private university and the ministry which has hitherto denied granting accreditation to the institution. Over 475 students who completed their academic courses between 2003 and 2007 at Unilak have not received their academic transcripts because the university is not legally recongnised. The ministry says Unilak cannot be given a degree-awarding accreditation because the management has no capacity to render quality education. The minister will for the first time appear before the Upper House on Thursday to explain Unilak’s problems that were left unanswered by her predecessor, Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya. Senator Odette Nyiramirimo, the vice chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs of the Senate, said yesterday that they could not summon Mujawamariya because she is no longer in charge. Nyiramirimo said the Prime Minister will write to Gahakwa informing her to appear before the Senate on Thursday. The Minister could not be reached by press time.Senator Agnès Kayijire, the chairperson of the committee recently presented a report detailing Unilak’s problems to the House. Nyiramirimo told senators then that the future of those who completed at Unilak seemed bleak. Without transcripts, they cannot gain employment in any institution despite passing job interviews. “I am very disappointed because employers have tossed these students up and down for so many years,” Nyiramirimo complained. The Senator’s report on Unilak indicates that institutions such as Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SFFR) had reportedly rejected recruits from this university. In one case, employees of RRA who had studied at Unilak are paid less than their counterparts from other universities. Nyiramirimo says Unilak students are victims of circumstances and must be helped to get equal opportunities. The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) had in the past warned that universities which lack the necessary requirements will not be licensed. Senators are expected, after hearing from the education minister, to draw recommendations that would assist the institution in getting accreditation which has eluded it for a decade. Ends