Is education level affecting choice of marriage partner

“I find it so challenging to get married to a man below my level of education, not only for personal reasons, but I believe it’s hard to present him before my friends and family members,” says Alice, who goes on to insist that she is serious.Alice is a professional accountant working with one of the financial institutions in Kigali. She is a degree holder and studying for a Masters degree at Mount Kenya University.Although she is much interested in getting married, getting a man of her choice has always been a challenge. “Marriage is a life time institution that requires a person to think twice before making that bold decision of that person he or she has to spend the rest of life with,” she says.The 30 year old observed that although marriage should purely be based on real love for each other, one of the major causes of marriage break-up is that some couples rush into affairs for material gains.Although there are other people with Alice`s mentality, there are also others with a totally different perception about marriage and education.“If I truly love someone, the level of education matters but not to the extent of stopping my love for him; I can even invest in him to have an education so that he gets to the level I wish him to be,” says Ben Mutabazi, a business man at Centenary House in downtown Kigali. Although he acknowledges that the level of education is a concern for most educated people in searching for partners, he urges that the most important thing is at least being educated to a certain level that enables upgrading.He also notes that beyond education, there is another life that calls for commitment depending on character or personality.“There are people who are not so much educated, but when they really understand what marriage is compared to the elites,” says Mutabazi.Based on one`s choice, people have principals and qualities they need in their partners. And as both parties push for their concerns, it is a fact that in this generation, educated people consider education but also personality before proposing. However, giving in for someone is purely a personal concern therefore a personal choice.