The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) does not recognise the Rwamagana branch of the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali (INILAK).NCHE director Innocent Mugisha, who was last week explaining the circumstances under which the Ministry of Education closed the campus recently, said it was not registered and lacked infrastructure.“We don’t know the existence of that branch. What we know is that INILAK has a branch in Nyanza, which was officially opened. The Rwamagana branch does not appear anywhere in our records,” Dr Mugisha said. “INILAK has potential to teach and should do so using its accredited branches.” He appealed to students and parents to always find out whether the university or a branch enrolling students for first entry is accredited before registering. ‘Campus saves time’INILAK Rector Jean Ngamije said the students were registered to study in Kigali campus, but later agreed with districts to find nearby place of study to cut distance.“We set up just classes to facilitate our students as they used to drive for a long distance coming to Kigali campus. We didn’t think it was necessary to report to the Ministry of Education, but we are doing what the ministry asked us,” Dr Ngamije said.The closure, last month, of the campus that has been operating for three years now, has left more than 500 students in a dilemma.“We were informed that the school was to be closed, but we don’t know when it will reopen, we are now in a dilemma as we are supposed to report to Kigali for studies which is a big challenge in terms of transport and time,” said Thomas Zimurinda, a first year student. “Most of the students opted to study in Rwamagana branch because going to Kigali is a burden to them,” he added.
