Indian varsity plans to open Rwanda campus

One of India’s oldest universities, Bangalore University, is exploring the option of establishing medical and traditional universities in Rwanda in collaboration with local education authorities, according to The Times of India. Addressing the gathering, during the18th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the Central College campus on Sunday, Bangalore University (BU) vice-chancellor N Prabhu Dev, reportedly confirmed the reports. “We are looking at the possibility of coming up with a medical university and a traditional university in Rwanda. The universities will be an extension of BU,” said Prabhu Dev.Even though government is yet to be approached about the move, Professor Geoffrey Rugege, the Executive Director of the National Council for Higher Education told The New Times, yesterday, it is a very welcome development.“We allow whoever is willing to support Rwanda’s education sector. We will follow the regular accreditation procedure to see what the university has to offer,” he said.Some of the conditions of accreditation of Rwandan universities include availability of enough and qualified lecturers, enough infrastructure and land.Other conditions include having enough operating financial budget to guarantee against any closure before or after students have paid school fees.Meanwhile, at the same commemoration event, Rwanda’s High Commissioner to India, Williams Nkurunziza, said despite the dark days, the country has risen, to post remarkable progress.“Between 2000 and 2011, the economy of Rwanda grew by 300%. The level of poverty has come down by 12.5%. The economy is expected to remain on a robust upward trajectory for many years. Moreover, 50% of our population is constituted by those born after 1994,” said Williams.‘Never again’ was the message spread at the event to remind one and all of the horror of the Genocide. This year’s commemoration was held under the theme ‘Let’s learn from our history to shape a bright future’. In India, it began with a peace march, a ‘Walk2Remember’, in which students from several countries participated.