Lwakabamba admits faults in varsity education loans, vows to fix loopholes

Education minister Prof. Silas Lwakabamba has assured legislators of proper mechanisms to avoid further student education scholarship anomalies. He was on Thursday appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Technology, Culture and Youth, to respond to queries related to the students’ loan scheme. The minister had been summoned following petitions by 126 university students from various University of Rwanda (UR) colleges who claimed that they were wrongly classified under the Ubudehe social stratification scheme. Of the 126 students who appealed to the Parliament, 60 have already been reinstated on the government sponsorship, according to the minister. He, however, said that government will not clear their tuition fees for the previous year. Students pay Rwf600,000 annually. “We are working closely with the university administration to help the affected students clear their debts over a period of two years,” Lwakabamba said. The minister also talked about the issue of the 143 students who were scrapped off the government sponsorship list after they were found ineligible. “We apologise for giving them false hope. That was a computing mistake that will never happen again,” Lwakabamba said. Government spends about Rwf60 billion annually on the student loan scheme. Presenting the education loan scheme report to the parliamentary committee, Louise Karamaga, the Deputy Director General in charge of High Education Student loan Department at Reb, urged the affected students to find ways of clearing their outstanding debts. “We understand that UR is exploring ways of allowing them to study and clear after graduation,” Karamaga said. Since 2008, the Government has been using six categories under the Ubudehe programme namely; umutindi nyakujya (those in abject poverty), umutindi (the very poor), umukene (the poor), umukene wifashije (resourceful poor), umukungu (those with abundant food), and umukire (the rich), which have been used in determining who is eligible to benefit from government schemes such as universal health insurance, education scholarships and cows. As a result, the government cancelled tuition loans and living allowances for students in category five and six of the poverty level barometer, except those considered poorest in category one and two of Ubudehe. The affected students will continue their studies as private students and pay for their tuition over two years. MP Agnès Mukazibera, the committee chairperson, commended the ministry for owning up the mistakes while seeking sustainable ways to address the issues. “We hope they will be sorted as soon as possible,” she said. Karamaga told legislators that the issues will be addressed before the end of the year. The students had faulted local leaders for not providing sufficient explanation about the Ubudehe scheme. “We should have done better in terms of communication, rather than reacting to the crisis,” Lwakabamba admitted. The government has since transferred management of the student loan scheme from Reb to Rwanda Development Bank (BRD).

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Lwakabamba admits faults in varsity education loans, vows to fix loopholes