Varsities to undergo quality assessment

NYANZA-The government is planning an in-depth assessment of all public and private varsities and institutions of higher learning in the country to evaluate the quality of education they are providing.This was disclosed by Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi on Thursday while addressing students and staff members of the Independent Institute of Lay Adventist of Kigali (INILAK), Nyanza campus.The Premier was at the campus to take part in the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the institute. He also used the occasion to officially open its Nyanza campus.Speaking during the function, Premier Habumuremyi observed that it was important for the varsities to ensure the education they provide is oriented towards addressing the national challenges for a speedy development.“The Government has tasked the Higher Education Council [HEC) to conduct an evaluation of all universities and institutions of higher learning,” the Premier said.He noted that the universities will be ranked according to the quality of their work and observed that the move is geared towards promoting higher quality education.“We need all institutions to train students to help them be useful in the development of the country. We need graduates who can perform competitively on the labour market,” Habumuremyi said.The Premier observed that a research conducted in the country revealed that Rwanda needed 10% of the entire population to have completed university studies.But, today we are still lagging under 2%, he noted.“We need to increase the number of students we train. But most importantly, we need to improve the quality of our education for us to train individuals who will contribute to building a strong country”The Premier congratulated the management of INILAK for their efforts in churning out skilled graduates, but noted that the road ahead is still too long.He reaffirmed the government support to all universities and other institutions of higher learning in order to boost the quality of their education.INILAK was established in 1997 by the Federation of Adventist Parents’ Associations for the Development of Education in Rwanda –FAPADER. 15 years down the road, it has campuses in Kigali and Nyanza.The Nyanza campus opened in 2010 and currently has over 800 students and cost over Rwf920 million but its extension is ongoing, according to officials.Since its full accreditation in 2009, INILAK has held three graduations that saw over 3,000 students awarded Bachelor’s Degrees in Law, Business Administration, Rural Development and Information Systems and Management.According to its Rector, Dr Jean Ngamije, the university is planning to start offering Masters Degree Programmes in various fields. He observed that the institution will be focusing on vocational training, to equip their students with practical skills needed in the transformation of the lives of the population.

National

Varsities to undergo quality assessment