Parliament report to expose rot in varsities

A parliamentary ad hoc committee set up in August last year to scrutinize higher institutes of learning is today scheduled to release its detailed report. The establishment of the ad hoc committee came as a result of a report initially compiled by the parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Science, Culture and Youth, headed by MP Agnes Mukazibera, which unearthed several shortcomings within public and private universities. “The ad hoc was charged with assessing; the quality of education in universities and how university education impacts on the nation’s development, availability of syllabuses, educational facilities like books and lecture-rooms, sanitation in hostels and libraries in universities,” reads a statement from Parliament. The statement adds in part that the committee was also charged with checking the qualifications of lecturers and their salaries, and assessing the administrative operations of the universities. Initially, the parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Science, Culture and Youth had released a report which indicated that some institutes don’t conform to the 2005 law that governs the organisation and functioning of higher education. The committee had also found some universities do not adhere to the government’s directive of making English the compulsory language of instruction. Mukazibera’s committee drafted its report after visiting the National University of Rwanda, Kigali Independent University, ISAIE/Busogo and INILAK. The previous report, a copy of which The New Times has obtained indicates that; “after several dialogues with heads of the institutes, it was discovered that almost all the universities and institutions do not have enough lecture rooms, lecturers are not motivated and there was need for salary structures.” The reports also quote university lecturers request the amendment of the law that governs the organisation and functioning of higher education. All universities had started conducting lectures in English apart from ISAE-Busogo which claimed that it has not yet got the capacity to adopt the policy. Other issues highlighted in the previous report include some students who graduate before presenting their research work. The new report is expected to unearth the setback in details and also propose some recommendations. Ends