The lucrative side of investing in education

Despite different challenges faced, Rwanda’s education sector is one of the many that have so far registered tremendous progress just 18 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.Entrepreneurs in the sector have reaped profits and at the same time helped the country achieve sustainable development in general.In an interview with The New Times, Hajati Zulfat Mukarubega, the founder and legal representative of Rwanda University Tourism College (RTUC), in Kicukiro District, said her institution started in 2006 as a small training centre, with only 5 students, offering only certificates. Currently, it has turned into a recognised private university with over 3,000 students.“No development can be achieved in a country without education and RTUC puts more focus and emphasis on equipping our students with entrepreneurships skills to ensure that they become job creators not job seekers after completing their respective courses here because as you know entrepreneurship education is very crucial in every individual’s life,” Mukarubega said.According to Mukarubega, in 2007 the Ministry of Education after taking all the necessary systematic surveys to prove its competence in the education system accredited her institution to become a University, where they begun offering Diplomas and degree courses in hospitality and tourism. She said in 2008 they had 380 students.She noted that the university contributes a lot to the government efforts of promoting good service delivery in the hospitality and tourism industry in the country through producing graduates with employable skills who will be employed in hotels, travel and tours agencies and various public institutions around the country.Mukarubega said that some students in third and fourth year have already started setting up their own businesses saying that this will help to improve their living standards and contribute to the economic growth in the country.She said her institution is also playing a big role as regards to changing the mindset of Rwandans as regarding becoming job creators not job seekers.She encouraged the government to mobilise foreign investors to collaborate with the local investors in improving the quality of education especially Technical and Vocation Education institutions (TVET) through investing in the education sector saying that this will help to achieve social-economic transformation in the country. The university is currently operating in rental premises but Mukarubega said the construction of a multi-billion campus worth US$20million at Rebero in Kicukiro District kicked off this year and that their target is to have at least 6,000 students in the next five years. “I encourage the Rwandan population to become entrepreneurs in the education sector because this will have a positive impact on their neighbours and the country in general but they should know that this field requires someone who is not money minded but someone who wants to play a key role in the country’s development,” Mukarubega said. In an interview with The New Times, the Director and Legal representative of King David Academy, Annet Mutamuriza, noted that her school started in 1997 with only 17 students with a few teachers but the school today has over 900 students with 24 qualified teachers.“According to my analysis and experience, investing in education is really very good and for me it’s my best business in as far as investment is concerned and I cannot do any other business apart from education because it’s something that can make you proud of what you are doing and that can totally change your life socially and financially,” Mutamuriza said.She said that due to increasing number of students at the school, a storied complex is currently under construction. “Private schools are playing a role towards the promotion of education in the country. I encourage more people to invest in this sector because we still have few schools compared to the population,” Mutamuriza said.The mission of the Ministry of Education is to transform the Rwandan citizens into skilled human capital for socio-economic development of the country by ensuring equitable access to quality education focusing on combating illiteracy, promotion of science and technology, critical thinking and positive value.According to statistics from the ministry, currently there are 31 institutions of higher learning, 17 of them public and 14 private.In 2006, there were 37,149 students in institutions of higher learning and last year the number had increased to 73,674.In 2010, there were 7,314 students in Vocational and Technical Colleges and last year they were 11, 315.

National

The lucrative side of investing in education