Mandatory entry into EAC varsity forum

The Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) is currently working to ensure that all universities in the region are mandatory members of the regional body.

Currently, of the 22O higher institutions of learning in East Africa, only 93 are members of IUCEA.

“At the moment, it is voluntary, but once the new law is enacted by next year, then it will be mandatory for any higher institution of learning in the region to be part of the body,” IUCEA Executive Director, Prof. Mayunga Nkunya, said during the just concluded Higher Education Forum in Arusha.

The new legislation, according to Nkunya, will have benchmarks to ensure quality academic standards.


Regional ministers in charge of higher education will meet in Kigali early next month to discuss the act before sending it to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) for enactment.

“The ministers want the act to be in place as soon as possible because the current law is too weak and it doesn’t address issues pertinent to the region,” Nkunya said.

Meanwhile, participants at the EAC Higher Education Forum organised by IUCEA, yesterday derided regional universities that still don’t meet quality standards and called for a strict quality assurance framework.

Kenya’s EAC youth ambassador, Milly Mbedi, emphasised the need for scrapping off the current requirement of student passes, saying that this contravenes the free movement of people as provided in the Common Market Protocol.

“We would like to see more tailored courses at universities that will give way to job makers as opposed to job seekers like the situation is today,” Mbedi added.

Burundi’s EAC Youth Ambassador, Desire Bigirimana, said it was important to involve industries in the development of university curriculum and development of research projects.

By Gashegu Muramira

Adult education offers second chance

Gerardine Nyiramabindo’s experience is a bitter-sweet story. 

Despite her will and devotion to study, she never got a chance to go to school at a tender age.

And, unfortunately, those who were supposed to take Nyiramabindo, now 35, to school were the ones who violated her right to education.

As she remembers how she missed the chance to go to school 25 years ago, her heart is engulfed in grief.

“My parents are the ones who prevented me from attending school. They told me that going to school would prevent me from getting time to help my grandmother,” she laments.

The first day Nyiramabindo entered class was her last one as well.

“When I went to school for the first time, my father was very angry that he even beat me,” she bitterly recalls. 

“I was very sad but could not do anything against the will of my parents. So, I dropped out,” Nyiramabindo reminisces.

Nyiramabindo grew up in the rural Ruramba sector of Nyaruguru district. She was born to illiterate parents- who ironically wanted her to follow in their foot steps of illiteracy. 

“They did not understand the value of enrolling us in school,” she says.

The ‘forced drop-out’ from school affected her life and, in the long run, she lost interest in education.

“Even when I got children, I was adamant to take them to school. But I later changed my mind,” she adds.

Back to school

The nature of her job compelled the mother of five to take literacy lessons to cope with the situation.

In fact, Nyiramabindo, who operates a retail store in her village, says she got energised to enrol when she realised that she was losing money due to illiteracy and that she could not access certain services.  

“Some dishonest clients used to cheat me because of my poor counting skills,” she regrets.

Therefore, Nyiramabindo thought it wise to acquire writing skills and she ultimately joined an adult literacy programme in her home area.

Six months later, Nyiramabindo is now able to read, write and count.

The woman is one of the 614 adults, drawn from various parts of Nyaruguru district, who successfully completed a six month literacy programme.

The programme came to an end last Wednesday with the awards of certificates to the graduates.

The course was spearheaded by the Pentecostal Church of Rwanda (ADEPR) with financial support from CHF International, an international non-governmental organisation.

Like Nyiramabindo, many of the graduates felt that a little education could help improve their lifestyles, and they enrolled to the programme.

For them, knowing how to read, write and do basic calculations is essential in doing business and other income generating activities.

Damascene Nyirimana, 20, dropped out in primary two due to lack of discipline and commitment.

“Parents used to send me to school, but instead I could go to a nearby business centre and spend the whole day loitering,” he remembers with regret.

“It is when I grew up that I realised that education is important in life.”

A few months ago, Nyirimana remembers that he could not use a mobile phone due to lack of reading skills.

“I could not type names or phone numbers,” he says. “It was really deplorable.”

He adds, “Today, I know how to write and can easily change settings in a phone.

I also have the ability to read letters, newspapers and books. I believe this is important in my life in this era.”

Research into adult education shows that although adults who choose to go to school passed their 50s or even 70s have justified reasons. 

Some adults may join classes, not because they want to use their new literacy skills but because they want to join the literacy set. 

Such reasons relate to social status. They feel that other people (especially the literate group) regard them with scorn because they cannot engage in the dominant textual communications. 

Others want to learn literacy skills because they want to accomplish some literacy task. Several aspire to read the Bible or the Quran. Others join adult literacy classes, not to learn literacy skills for use but for the opportunities the course will subsequently provide. 

In a study done in Botswana, some adults said they had joined because literacy is a pre-requisite to getting a driving licence. In some contexts, obtaining a loan is dependant on being able to read and write. 

In Nepal, some adults came to classes because with the certificate of literacy they obtained at the end of the course, they could become Community Health Volunteers. 

Through adult literacy programme ran by the Pentacostal church, over 400 000 individuals from across Rwanda have now gained literacy skills since 1999, according to Rev. Jean Sibomana, the church’s legal representative.

Sibomana says the programme is part of the broad efforts to eradicate illiteracy, a major barrier to people’s development and welfare.

“Education is important in shaping people’s minds, changing their behaviours and bringing them to contribute actively to building a strong nation,” he observes.

In August this year, the National Adult Literacy Programme of the Pentecostal Church in Rwanda won the 2012 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize in recognition for their contribution in promoting literacy programmes.

By Jean Pierre Bucyensenge

EAC education forum opens

The first ever East African Higher Education Forum and exhibition kicked off in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday, with officials calling on bridging of the gap between tertiary institutions and industries if knowledge-based economies are to be built.

The three-day meeting that brings together hundreds of higher education managers, researchers, policy makers and the business community was opened by the Tanzanian Vice President Mohammed Gharib Bilal.

Bilal called for the harmonisation of higher education and training systems to facilitate free mobility of youth to study in universities of their choice in the region as well as enhance free movement of graduates in the region.

“Higher education is also important for the promotion and protection of cultural diversity within our communities, in democratisation of the society and in promotion and supporting of trade in the region,” he added.

EAC Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera, observed that the inadequate financing of students and lack of enough research continues to hamper the expansion of the higher education sector in the region.

This, he warned, is also an area of concern that could compromise the quality of education delivered in the region.

“Therefore, it is very critical for the region to diversify higher education and research financing opportunities by enhancing the active participation of the private sector.”

Different speakers emphasised that education should be regarded as an increasingly strong determinant for the competitiveness and innovation of any economy.

“The relation between supply and demand side – meaning to say between the academia on one side and the commercial and economic sector on the other – has to be re-adjusted,” said Bernd Multhaup, the GIZ Programme Manager.

“Instead of waiting on each side for the other, both sides are requested to develop a different attitude and mindset towards cooperation and deriving synergies.”

Prof. Elie Buconyori, the Chairperson of the Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), said that a quality assurance framework in higher education is being developed to ensure quality academic standards.

“Without significant research inputs, attainment of knowledge-based economies in East Africa, that we are all longing for, will remain a distant dream on paper,” Buconyori lamented.

The regional higher education system has, for long, lacked focus on the needs of the labour market and those of the private and public sectors leading to increased unemployment.

The forum has attracted speakers both from the region, Singapore and Germany, who will make presentations on how collaborative partnerships between the academia and the business community can be enhanced.

By Gashegu Muramira

UNR begins four-day graduation

The National University of Rwanda (NUR), yesterday, started a week-long graduation ceremony which will see over 3200 students who completed their studies in the last academic year graduate in various disciplines.

The ‘graduation week’ runs from October 23- 26. 

The graduation is being conducted at the faculty level and each faculty has its own day.

On Tuesday, about 970 students from the Faculties of Law and of Arts, Media and Social Sciences graduated with diplomas, Bachelor’s as well as Master’s Degrees.

According to officials, the graduation at the faculty level was dictated by the need to cut down on the costs of bigger events which were held in the past.

“Graduation ceremonies were getting very large and taking a lot of time, that we needed to find another way of celebrating our success and the success of [our] students,” Prof Silas Lwakabamba, NUR Rector, explained yesterday.

“This year, we are running four separate ceremonies. We take each of them just as seriously as the ‘grand ceremony’ of previous years, and each is still being attended by more people than some institutions graduate in an entire year. But they should be more manageable for the people who attend them and their guests”.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Minister of Education, Vincent Biruta highlighted the need to train competitive students who can contribute to the development of the country.

“We must position our students strategically, which will allow them to get jobs or to create them”.

He told graduates that they will have to work hard in order to surpass others if they are to be successful.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to promoting quality education, the minister noted that the single university scheme will help  in tha perspective. 

“The single university scheme will transform higher education to improve its efficiency and the quality of learning... [and] the effective management of human and financial resources,” he said.

Abanyeshuri bateguye igitaramo

Kuwa gatanu tariki 26/10/2012, mu ishuri ryisumbuye ryitwa Glory Secondary School riri ahahoze ULK mu gishanga hazabera igitaramo cyo gushima Imana ibyiza yabakoreye no mu rwego rwo gusezeranaho kubera umwaka urangiye.

Iki gitaramo kizatangira ku isaha ya saa saba n’igice z’amanywa bakazaba bari kumwe n’umuhanzi Arcene Manzi, Pastor Gaby Ngamije na Pastor David. Kwinjira muri iki gitaramo bizaba ari ubuntu.

Nk’uko bimaze kumenyerwa, ibigo by’amashuri byinshi mu mpera z’umwaka w’amashuri bategura ibitaramo byo gusezeranaho ndetse by’umwihariko abasenga bakagira umwanya wihariye wo gushima Imana ibyiza iba yarabakoreye umwaka wose.

Literacy, Language, & Learning (L3)

The Literacy, Language, and Learning Initiative (L3) helps Rwanda’s Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) develop and implement new national standards for literacy (in English and Kinyarwanda) and numeracy, aiming to improve students’ reading and mathematics skills in grades 1 to 4, as well as their English language proficiency. 

Working in collaboration with MINEDUC and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), L3 works with preservice and inservice facilitators to introduce proven reading and mathematics teaching strategies and with community volunteers to support struggling learners. 

The initiative also aims to improve the availability and use of innovative reading and math instructional materials. Teachers’ and students’ English language skills will be reinforced through interactive audio programs. By the end of its five years, L3 will reach over 1.5 million learners and nearly 30,000 teachers and provide over 1 million teaching and learning materials to schools. 

In addition, students and teachers will demonstrate improved performance and achievement, greater equity in instruction will be established, and teacher training institutions will be transformed into centers of excellence.

EDC

TTC trainees write stories for pupils

Thirty Teacher Training College (TTC) students read their own original stories to neighboring primary school students at Academie de la Salle in Byumba on Friday afternoon. They also encouraged the primary students to read and write their own stories.

At the event, organized by VSO volunteer Dorothy Nelson, primary school students crowded together in small circles to listen to the TTC students’ stories. TTC students asked the children questions about the story before, during, and after reading to engage them in the story.

“It is my hope that these stories will inspire these primary students to write their own stories,” says Nelson.

TTC students wrote these stories in July at a writer’s workshop facilitated by VSO as part of the USAID-funded Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative. For some, it was the first time they had ever written a story.

“This writer’s workshop can stimulate our hidden talents,” says TTC student Themistocles Abayisaba, who has continued writing stories after the workshop’s completion.

According to L3′s Technical Director Norma Evans, TTC students should be encouraged to use stories in their classrooms when they become teachers. “Children need constant exposure to written content to learn to read,” she says. “Stories show students that reading is meaningful, that it has a purpose, and it gets students interested in reading.”

Not only is reading in the classroom essential, but so is writing. Evans also says that even from Primary 1 students should have opportunities for authentic writing—not merely copying from the board, but writing to express themselves. “Writing helps students figure out which letters represent the individual sounds they hear in words.” Evans says. “This helps them to be better readers.”

The Kigali Institute of Education, with support from the L3 initiative, is revising TTC curricula to include a focus on writing and the importance of story in the classroom. VSO volunteers with specialization in literacy will support the implementation of the new curricula and will also organize activities such as writer’s workshops and writing competitions at the TTCs to encourage a culture of reading and writing.

Jean Bosco Bigirimana, principal of TTC Byumba, is pleased with this focus on story. “This is the beginning. This is your first story,” he told the TTC students at Friday’s event. “Write many stories. Use the stories to teach your pupils when you leave school to be teachers.”

Focus