The manner, pace and quality of change in Rwanda in the last 25 years or so continues to amaze many, but also annoy a few. For evidence, some point to the physical and visible change: various infrastructure, housing and urban growth, industrial parks, and so on. Others point to a growing international role as a mark of confidence and influence. Many more look to the growth in the health and education sectors as indicators of the country’s progress. They all admit, some grudgingly, that for all this to happen, there must be an enabling effective governance. They are all right, of course. There is change and progress all around and in different areas, each as important as the other, all complementing one another. The few who are displeased by the changes they see always want to put a damper on it and question its sustainability, which is to say they pray it will not endure. Their prayers will not be answered. There is already clear assurance that all these observable changes will be sustained. It is provided by good governance and developments in the education sector where additions continue to be seen. The latest addition to a growing list of international higher learning institutions setting up in Rwanda is the University of Coventry Group. In May 2021, they established their Africa Hub in Kigali. And last Wednesday, February 2, the Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the University of Coventry Group, Professor John Latham, and the Regional Managing Director of its Africa Hub, Professor Silas Lwakabamba, were in Kigali where they met President Paul Kagame and the minister of education, and announced that as part of their initial programmes, they would train nurses and midwives to PhD level and experts in the aviation industry. Things were different only a little over twenty-five years ago. Then there were only two universities in Rwanda, one public and the other private with a paltry number of students, insignificant in today’s terms, graduating from both. Today, the tertiary education landscape has changed and is unrecognisable from that of barely a generation ago. The growth in the number and quality of universities in the country has been phenomenal, over ten local, three regional and six international. But perhaps the most eye-catching expansion, unimaginable only twenty-five years ago has been the number of international universities setting up here. You might say that is not remarkable in this age of global interconnectedness. Probably so. Nonetheless, it marks a significant shift in higher education in Rwanda and how Rwandans relate to it. In the past we had to send our best students overseas to some of the best schools abroad for world class education. We still do and will continue to do so, especially for specialised training where we have not yet developed adequate capacity. Many others find their way to average or even unaccredited schools. Such is the attraction to foreign education. Now world class schools are coming here to our best students and provide the same quality education at much less cost and in an environment in which the knowledge and skills acquired will be applied. It is a big shift whichever way you look at it. But it also raises many important questions. What are the expectations? What are we doing with this educational infrastructure, the learning that they offer, and the international networks they bring? At the individual level, will it be the usual: finish school, get a job in government or the corporate world, bask in the prestige of the alma mater, lead a comfortable life and live happily ever after? Or will it be: complete school and armed with what has been acquired and leveraging the power, stature and connections of the school help transform the country? As a society, where do we place most value? On qualifications alone, on prestige, or on knowledge and what it can be used to achieve? And what role should government play in all this? It surely should not stop at giving students scholarships and creating an enabling environment for learning. It is, of course, commendable to make quality higher education available to our students here at home and outside the country. But more can and should be done. For instance, deploy graduates in areas where they can have the greatest impact. Or where they strike out on their own enable them, through funding or other means, to achieve similar effect. That is one way of making all these good schools in the country serve a truly transformational role. The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
