It has been over five months since schools have been closed as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, having been closed since March 16. All physical teaching activities were stopped and replaced with remote and online learning. The University of Rwanda is among the schools that stopped teaching activities and evacuated its different campuses in March. As the Government plans to assess if schools can resume in September, the university has been preparing to resume and says “is now ready to receive students and continue to observe Covid-19 precautionary measures and guidelines.” University of Rwanda accommodates close to 30,000 students in different campuses across the country. In an interview with The New Times, Dr Faustin Gasheja, principal of the School of Business and Economics, said that strategies have been put in place to keep students safe. He explained that if schools reopen in September, classes will be delivered in shifts to allow a small number of students sit in a class physically distanced. “Some of our classes are very big with over 100 students. We will make sure classes are shorter and given in shifts of fewer students. We will encourage students to use online classes that are available and as effective and attend physical classes where necessary,” he said. Gasheja added that face masks will be given freely to students who can afford one or none, since the university has records of vulnerable people. There will also body temperature testers at every entrance of a class for testing purposes. “We have all the equipment and we are ready to accommodate students in September,” he said. New academic year to start in December with new faculties When the schools resume in September, the university will welcome students whose studies were suspended in March will resume. New cohorts will be taken in in December and the next academic year will then start. For the new academic year, new faculties were introduced in economics, procurement, finance, technology and Business. In Master’s degree new faculties include Master of Science in Economics with specialization in Applied Quantitative economics, Master of Science in Regulatory Economics and Competition Policy and MBA with specialization in Executive MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship. Short courses have also been increased from just 3 to 14. Gasheja said that the changes have been planned even before Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the readiness by the university to start receiving students however, the reopening will be guided by science, and according to the Prime Minister. According to the premier, an assessment will be conducted around August and recommendations will be made on if schools can resume without endangering students, the teaching staff and other workers.
