Fresh news coming in from Rwanda indicates that Cavendish University graduates whose academic papers were rejected by Rwanda Higher Education Council (HEC) in August 2020 will have to pursue a one-year mandatory course before being accepted as qualified teachers.
According to local news websites in Rwanda, the graduates are reportedly pursuing a “reintegration course” in various local universities including; Institut Catholique de Kabgayi (ICK), Kibogora polytechnic, University of Byumba, Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA).
Several graduates from Cavendish University, Kampala, have been serving as teachers and head teachers in different schools located in Ngororero district, Western Province of Rwanda. They were employed after passing teachers’ recruitment exams and presenting HEC recognition certification, about two and half years ago.
However, the Ngororero District labor has penned a tough letter indicating that Cavendish graduates who are serving as teachers should present their academic certificates from HEC ( academic equivalence certificates ) or else, they will be fired.
“Academic recognition certificate is not an academic equivalence certificate, they are different. HEC knows this difference, the issue is finding out why these professional teachers delayed getting academic equivalence certificates because they are needed at the workplace as per the law,” Edmond Tubanambazi, advisor to the Minister of labor said.
It is reported that the biggest percentage of stranded graduates will have to raise the tuition on their own as they did in their former universities. Campus Bee understands that teachers will take up 5 to 9 course units while pursuing this “reintegration course”.
The “reintegration course” is a package of various course units including; the East African History-1(from the origins to 1900), Revolution to World War one and Concepts, steps of the Genocide and Pre-colonial history of Rwanda.
Other course units to be undertaken by these graduates include; History of Asia, Historical criticism, History of Oceania, Contemporary history- II (from World War-1 to present), Catholic church and education, educational systems in Rwanda, Change Management in Education, Conflict management, among others.
Learning institutions that will reintegrate students from foreign institutions have been tasked to verify whether those students fulfilled the admission criteria of 2 principal passes. Additionally, students should be reintegrated in fields related to what they studied before, according to HEC.
“As per the General academic regulation guidelines, the pass mark is 50%. However, different institutions have different pass marks which is 50% or 60%, given the nature of the situation of these students, higher learning institutions (HLIs) are urged to be flexible in reintegrating those students as pass marks may be at different percentages,” A letter from HEC reads in part.
“Due to the fact that all HLIs don’t have the same curriculum and are not at the same level of completed modules at each level of study, during the reintegration process, HLIs are requested to carry out a gap analysis for the reintegrated students in terms of credits accumulated, modules, completed and content covered by students relative to their academic programs in which the students will be reintegrated in order to set measures to bridge the identified gaps,” The letter reads further.
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