Rwanda private varsities threaten to lay off workers

A lecturer during class at the University in Kigali.

By Edwin Ashimwe, KIGALI Rwanda

It has been roughly two and a half months since learning institutions closed in Rwanda in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, with the closure of schools one of the key concerns was whether teachers from private schools would continue to receive their salaries.

The Government has since challenged private learning institutions to diversify their revenue streams and told them they could benefit from a $200-million (about Rwf186 billion) relief fund designed to help the private sector recover from Covid-19 impact.

Claudette Irere, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education in charge of ICT and TVET Education, said earlier that; “For teachers in private institutions, who were the most affected during this time, we encourage and will help the institution owners to seek help with the government fund allocated for the private sector.”

This help should mainly be used for the teachers, he emphasised.

However, private universities and their staff have raised concerns over the clarity of when the ‘allocated’ fund will be operational.

“It is still unclear how and when this fund will be accessible to learning institutions.” Dr Callixte Kabera, the president of the private universities’ association told The New Times.

“It is clear that it has been delayed, thus leaving most of the private universities with an alternative of laying off their staff.”

While teachers working for public schools are paid their monthly salaries, a teacher from the University of Technology and Arts of Byumba said; “We have not been paid since the pandemic struck.”

“But the school leaders say that they are still waiting on when the recovery fund will be operational”

The concerns come after the government extended the closure of universities and other schools until September.

This means that if they open in September, universities will have been closed for more than six months since the initial lockdown in March.

Alternatively, a source from the Ministry of Education encouraged learning institutions to take advantage of the opportunities that have been availed.

For instance, Lawrence Uwambaje, the Director General of the Teacher’s saving and Credit Cooperative (Umwalimu Sacco) advises teachers and lecturers to make use of existing saving groups.

“We have allocated a fund to our member institutions, so far we have 8,000 members, which means that this can cover up a good number of teachers”

Uwambaje added that; “The fund is given at a rate of 13 per cent, with a loan duration of two years. Institutions have been given a grace period of two years and can be paid on a quarterly basis.” - The New Times