Kagame tells Africa to invest in varsities

By Augustine Oduor

African governments must integrate university education into their national policies if the institutions are to play the role of developing the next generation of African leaders.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame yesterday said the teaching curriculum in universities must be reviewed to provide tailor-made programmes that respond to the requirements of the competitive job market.

He said universities must now be enabled to position themselves better through proper investment in higher education programmes that are key development of the nations.

To achieve this, Kagame said other alternative sources of funding other than the traditional ones of foundation bodies and tuition fees must be lobbied to cut costs.

"The private sector should be active partners in education and if they work with the community and the Government as well, costs are well shared," he said.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame (right) and United States International University Vice Chancellor Freida Brown after he presided over the 40th anniversary of the institution in Nairobi, Wednesday. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

The Rwandan President was speaking yesterday at the United States International University (USIU) when he presided over the institution’s 40th anniversary.

Giving his keynote address on The Role of Universities in Developing the next Generation of African Leaders, he said universities need to offer necessary skills in science, business education and such relevant subjects that hold the key to problems facing Africa.

Employment

He said Africa has the potential to offer better future for its youth if proper investment is done in new technology that would shape social and economic development of the continent.

His statement comes a day after Higher Education Assistant Minister Kilemi Mwiria said Kenyan universities will soon be evaluated on how their graduates are employed or create employment opportunities.

He said the move is expected to stop varsities from offering irrelevant courses.

Mwiria said plans to that effect are already underway, with Federation of Kenya Employers expected to supply data on employment trends in the country.

He noted that there will be no better marketing tool for universities than to thrive on the fact that institutions graduates are relevant in the job market.

Practical skills

The assistant minister said the move would promote quality and relevance in the higher education training and asked private investors to help increase access to university education.

He said the government was also working out ways in which they could waiver duty on areas as telecommunications and energy to support university education development.

Last year, former Higher Education Minister Ruto had also announced waivers for universities on construction materials to put up more buildings and increase their capacity to admit huge numbers.

Kagame emphasised the need to ensure university education is laden with practical skills that match the needs of the society and job market.