When Dr Charles Murigande retired recently as the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of institutional advancement at the University of Rwanda, social media was flooded with congratulatory messages. A former minister of education and of foreign affairs, advisor to the president, ambassador to Japan and vice-chancellor, Murigande has inspired many. University World News spoke to him about his role at the university, his vision for its future and his plans for retirement.
UWN: How do you feel about retiring after such a long and varied career?
Murigande: I feel that I have reached a turning point in my life. The University of Rwanda (UR) was formed in 2013 after the merger of seven former public higher learning institutions. These included the National University of Rwanda where I served as rector in the late 1990s. I feel that I have played some part in the development of this new culture.
It has been a tough journey but a very satisfying one. Members of UR have embraced the vision and mission of the new institution and are finding ways of contributing to those, rather than imposing the values of the original institutions on the relatively newly formed university.
UWN: What changes in the university can you describe, seven years after the merger?
Murigande: This institution has become a unified entity that is performing well academically. I think the quality of teaching and learning is improving and research is becoming more productive.
UWN: How do you see the future of the University of Rwanda?
Murigande: My terms as rector of the National University of Rwanda and minister of education have afforded me an overview of the institutions that merged into the current University of Rwanda. I see UR as becoming an excellent teaching and learning institution. I see it as evolving into a research-led institution that contributes to solving the developmental challenges of our country.
It has a learner-centred approach to education that is problem-based and challenge-driven. I envisage UR as continuing to invest in the use of technology towards developing skills that will promote the employability of its graduates.
UWN: Universities have been criticised for not carrying out research which benefits their communities. What role do you see the University of Rwanda playing in this regard?
Murigande: I see UR investing extensively in research that could demonstrate the feasibility of government policy, thus paving the way for recommendations for adjustment or rejection of policy.
I also see it preparing Rwanda for the fourth industrial revolution. To this end, the university is already introducing programmes such as artificial intelligence, robotics and space technology. All public and private universities need to move in this direction in order to develop and maintain market relevance.
UWN: What common problems face universities today?
Murigande: One of the biggest challenges is under-financing. I don’t think there is any university in Rwanda except maybe Carnegie Mellon University Africa, African Leadership University and probably the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences that is able to access external funding. Funding from student tuition fees and-or government is insufficient.
Even the substantial support that UR receives from the government is not enough to meet the needs of a cutting-edge university. Limited resources hinder the acquisition of the state-of-the-art technology and acceptably qualified staff that are needed to realise the vision of a modern university.
UWN: What is the status of the qualifications among your teaching staff?
Murigande: We have about 350 lecturers holding PhDs. This represents 27% of our teaching staff. Ideally, this needs to increase to 80%. Currently, we have more than 200 students pursuing PhD studies at UR. This means that in four years, we should have increased the percentage of PhD holders to 50%.
If we take into account those who will have graduated through cooperation with other universities, we should have 60% of our lecturers as PhD holders by the end of seven years. This would put us on a par with other world universities.
UWN: How does current learning at the university compare with that of the past?
Murigande: My observation is that students have lost their intellectual curiosity. For example, at a public lecture, UR struggles to fill an auditorium of 500 seats on a campus that accommodates 4,000 to 5,000 students.
When I was the rector at the National University of Rwanda, we would have to put microphones outside our auditorium of 1,200 seats to accommodate students outside. The university had 4,250 students. Now we have 9,000 students and we struggle to fill the same auditorium.
The word ‘university’ implies ‘universal’. It suggests that students should be hungry for universal knowledge. Today students spend time on YouTube and social media, exchanging pictures and news that do not challenge or add value to the development of their intellects and knowledge. I think this is a serious challenge. Universities do not seem to be creating a generation of intellectuals who can gather and process information from different sources and create something new.
The culture of reading books is being lost. Reading is one of the ways through which one develops intellectual curiosity and the capacity for critical thinking. This seems to me to be missing in the current generation of students.
UWN: But surely information and communications technology (ICT) can be useful when it is used productively?
Murigande: It could be said that ICT has democratised knowledge and made it accessible. For example, a student could be studying at the University of Rwanda and would like to use the notes of the same course from Harvard University, or from Cambridge or Stanford. ICT opens up the choice. The student is not limited to his or her local university library.
UWN: What are your plans for your retirement?
Murigande: While I consider myself to be a modern person who plans ahead, I am also someone who tries to live one day at a time, as the Bible recommends. I take care of today by trying to do my best, and that generates another day.
I applied for retirement because I wanted to lead a less hectic life. I have been working hard over the past 30 years and I felt I needed some rest. I am planning to use this free time to get closer to God. I will pray more and have time to read more, especially Christian literature. I will apply what I am learning to my everyday life, spending time with people and loving them.
Over the last 30 years, I have gathered some knowledge, experience and wisdom that I will be sharing with those who would want me to share with them.
