Sports bursaries: NUR proposes cost sharing scheme

•Dean axed HUYE – The National University of Rwanda (NUR) has proposed a cost sharing scheme aimed at facilitating students who were promised admission on a sports ticket this academic year. According to a communiqué posted to the University website, the University management meeting that convened on July 25 resolved that the 32 affected students will have to meet 50 percent of their tuition, while the University meets the other part as long as they continue to play for University teams. The affected students are expected to meet all other costs accruing from their stay at the National University of Rwanda. The plight of the students came to the limelight this month when the University dean of students wrote to them a letter indicating that the University would no longer sponsor their studies. The said students had been issued with sports licenses by the University sports department and the dean’s office and were registered with different sports federations in the country. The University administration maintains that the decision to stop sports bursaries was communicated at the beginning of the 2008 academic year. According to the communiqué, the decision to stop the bursaries was taken on April 15, after a sub-committee appointed to assess the ability of NUR to provide such scholarships had presented its findings. The committee indicated that the University can no longer afford to sponsor such students. University authorities insist that the said students were not registered though they were allowed to attend lectures, sit for examinations and play for the Varsity teams on a recommendation from the dean of students’ office. The affected students were officially notified of the failure by the University to admit them on a sports ticket in July. The notification was contained in a letter dated July 15 by the dean of students. In a related development, the Dean of Students, Gerard Mudahereranwa, has been relieved of his duties. He is the second top official to fall victim to the sports bursary saga and he has been replaced by Medard Runyange. Another top official, Albert Kayiranga who was head of the sports department, was transferred to the Estates department recently. The communiqué posted on the Varsity website singles out the two officials as having failed to implement the decisions of the Management Committee. “… and as a result, disciplinary measures have been taken against them,” the communiqué reads in part. Efforts to get a comment from the Varsity Rector Professor Silas Lwakabamba proved futile as he was reportedly attending a meeting. The affected students could also not be reached by press time. Ends