Higher education is no longer for a select few

Often when discussing the topic of access to education focus is usually centred on basic education which generally includes primary education and to some extent adult literacy. Higher education is often seen as a luxury for the few that are very bright or those that can afford to pay for it. This week Education Times delves into the increasing demand and the supply of higher education in Rwanda. Starting from the time when a new unity government came to power after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, new universities have been established to deal with the increasing numbers of students that finish high school with enough grades to qualify for university education. The rising number of people accessing education automatically changes the education scene. At one time, senior six leavers would automatically get jobs in government because their level of academic achievement was quite high. Today more people have acquired education and so to remain competitive a university qualification has almost become the bare minimum. With a liberalised economy, government no longer has the monopoly to provide education services. Foreign and other private universities continue to open shop in Rwanda each day. The demand for this education is so high that thousands of Rwanda students are known to attend universities in the neighbouring countries. This simple observation means that setting up a university here is a guarantee that one will get students enrolling since it is a clear case of bringing services closer to the people. Rwanda is known to be a major investment destination and it appears that education investors have not been left out too. Increased access to higher education is a timely development for a country that is trying to tackle the challenge of skilled labour.