University of Kigali
The Ministry of Education has shutdown dozens of courses at various universities because of faultng registration procedures.
Mount Kenya University-Kigali campus, has been ordered to stop some of its programs including; Bachelor’s degrees of Nursing, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and Public Health.
Also Master’s degree of Public Health from this campus was suspended because tit operated without prior approval by Rwanda’s Ministry of Education.
The same university has also closed its campus in Rusizi district.
The Mahtma Gandhi University from India, which was also last year licenced to operate online in Rwanda will suspend a face to face program which they started not only unlawfully but also operatinng in inadequate infrastructure.
The locally owned University of Kigali, barely two years old will also not operate in its new Musanze campus, because they launched it without prior authorization.
Marcel Kamande, the Principal of Mount Kenya University-Kigali spoke to KT Press from Kenya that he was not aware of the government directive. “I need to see that official warning letter and be able to comment,” he said.
Yet, a staff who saw the letter told KT Press that he is aware the university is soon starting negotiations with the ministry of education on the matter.
The three universities in unlawful practices add to three more local universities which saw some programs closed last year.
They include Catholic University of Rwanda-Save, Catholic University of Kabgayi and the Musanze based INES, all belonging to the Roman Catholic Church.
The government is conducting operations to stop unlawful programs and modes of operation among accredited universities.
It is the same way a Congolese national saw his Université de Lyon from Rubengera, Western Rwanda, closed after clandestinely opening it and starting registration process.
Innocent Mugisha, the Executive Director of the High Education Council has told KT Press, a malpractice whereby universities violate established procedures to register a school or a program will cost high the authors.
“When you register a program without our authorization, it costs you three times higher, than when you would apply for it,” says Mugisha.
Accreditation takes three months in normal procedures but when someone breaks the laws while registering a school, the Ministry closes them and school owners can be sued.
They can only reopen school after they file a successful application which has to be meticulously assessed.
Application to register a school is filed to the High Education Council, which assesses technical details and recommends the school to the Ministry of Education.
When the Minister appends the application, the ministry forwards the matter to the cabinet which approves a school with its programs.
Registering a new program within a campus requires a permission from ministry of education.
Officials in the ministry of education are worried that in fraudulent programs, schools can register students who do not qualify, and end up producing fake graduates into the labour market.
Thus, a warning goes to the community to be careful against such fraudulent practices in universities and higher learning institutions.
Accredited universities, their campuses and programs were published on their website. Anyone registering on a different program/university other than those accredited, will be at own risk, the ministry said.
Students have been warned against enrolling in regional institutions because they are cheap. Some of such institutions are non-accredited. After graduation, students return but their degrees are shunned.
