By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

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Several private universities are facing the risk of permanent closure due to a steady decline in student population after over six months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rwanda Today has learnt.

Despite the reopening of physical learning since October, which raised prospects for several private academies, the turn up has fallen to record low rates as students from cash-strapped families are shelving study plans, while many parents have resorted to cheaper public schools.

Individual academies reported that out of the total students so far allowed to come back to school since reopening, only 60 per cent had turned up.

This, coupled with a projected decline in enrollment of new students due to the Covid-19 socio-economic impact, has dampened education sector investors’ hopes of recovery from the prolonged closure after which most have to reinstate or hire workers, and meet increased costs of teaching under the new normal.

“It’s really tough because raising tuition fees is out of the options, and it’s impossible to get a loan under such circumstance,” said Eugene Hakizimana, head of Ruli Higher Institute of Health, adding that as student numbers drop, the institution faced hurdles meeting the high cost of running health-related programs.

Rwanda Today learnt that several privately run academies caught up in uncertainities after failing to attract numbers that can sustain operations have adopted the wait-and-see approach in anticipation that the full reopening in the coming months would boost their numbers.

Survival

“Really institutions are being run in a situation that is not sustainable in the long run. Most are in a survival state at the moment, and it is going to require the management of institutions to ensure that the small amount of money they are generating can sustain their activities,” said Dr Callixte Kabera, head of the private universities’ association.

According to Kabera, the push to have the Government allow accredited higher learning institutions to admit sponsored students had not yielded fruits as the Ministry of education had not responded to their demands in a memo sent in July asking to have a share of estimated 9,000 students granted state sponsorship for higher education annually.

“We think that if the government sends sponsored students in private institutions, it could save many on the verge of closing. It eases the financial burdens linked to a lot of upfront payments that are made before institutions are officially authorized to open, and it comes with monitoring that can effectively end issues around governance of institutions,” said Kabera.

Already more than four higher learning institutions in the country succumbed to financial woes before learning could resume after the seven-month closure due to the pandemic.

Financial problems are equally a threat to the survival of several private schools in the country. With no revenues from the prolonged closure, many are struggling to attract enough numbers to reinstate their teaching staff on the payroll and run daily operations as most parents turn to cheaper public schools.

Unlike public schools whose operations are subsidized by the Government, private schools have been charging more than four times or even higher the fees charged by public academies.

“Even for public schools a few parents are able to pay their share of the fees, we are allowing all the children in hoping that they can pay later. So that tells you how difficult it is for a private school with staff who have not been paid for the past seven months of closure,” said Jean Marie Vianney Bayingana, head of GS Gahunga, a state aided school in Burera District.