It’s been two months since Phocas Nibishaka donned his gown and drove to Huye Stadium in southern Rwanda proudly surrounded by family and friends to celebrate his graduation after four turbulent years of study. “I have no single document to define me as a bachelor’s degree holder and only University of Rwanda (UR) knows why,” he lamented. Like most of his colleagues who belong to the latest cohort of UR graduates, Nibishaka says that, as a result, he has missed several chances for possible employment. “A few days after graduation, Rwanda Education Board (REB) announced openings for teaching jobs. Because I had no document, I went to the university [Kayonza-based College of Education], but they gave me a To-Whom-It-May-Concern sheet of paper – no grades, no degree. With that paper, I submitted applications in five districts but I was never shortlisted anywhere. I later on learned that few districts accepted academic testimonials,” he said. There are over 9,000 job-seeking fresh graduates out there without official documents that most employers are looking for. Besides employment, the delay in getting their diplomas is costing them opportunities for further studies are rendered impossible, the fresh graduates say. Anastase Ndagijimana, another UR fresh graduate is another graduate who talked to The New Times and he defined the predicament as “unnecessary injustice.” “The deadline to submit transcripts caught me on January 5. I had on many occasions gone to my college’s registrar but all he offered was an academic testimonial. No university that can accept that paper,” he said. Eventually he missed out a MasterCard Foundation’s scholarship for a Master’s Degree. An academic testimonial shows when you graduated, what you studied and your class, explained Ndagijimana. “It doesn’t show your grades. It’s basically nothing for scholarship application.” According to the university authorities, there are several reasons why graduates are not given their certificates on the day of graduation. “What I can tell you is that many people clear financially very late - some even at midnight of the eve of graduation,” says Prof Philip Cotton, UR Vice Chancellor. “So we propose that we (separate) the award of certificates from the graduation ceremony”. He however said that the good news is that for the first time, diplomas will be printed in Rwanda, revealed Cotton. Certificates were previously printed in European countries which would result in longer delay and more mistakes, some being sent back for correction. The university follows a lead by REB which since last year locally prints certificates of secondary school.
