Education key for development in the region says Zziwa

 The Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Rt. Hon Margaret Nantongo Zziwa is calling for concerted efforts to improve the quality of education as a pre-cursor to the region’s development.  Rt. Hon Zziwa was speaking over the weekend at Kirera University in Gitega Province, Burundi, where she led EALA Members in Community day (Ibikorwa Rusangi) activities.

The Speaker commended the Government of Burundi for initiating free primary school education and noted that community participation in building schools had helped to contribute to enhance the number of schools resulting in improved education.

“That the local community has helped to contribute to the construction of the University here and that of many other schools is laudable.  Education leads to liberation and can help transform a society”, she remarked.  She informed the public that EALA would make its contribution in terms of monetary value to the project.

The 2^nd Vice President of Burundi, H.E. Gervais Rufyikiri remarked that the University which opens its doors for admission of students next year, was the inaugural one for the region. 

“We want to ensure the youth in the country have a chance to benefit from quality education”, the Vice President remarked.

In the same respect, the Vice President said Burundi was committed to creation of jobs and expansion of the opportunities to improve the lives of its citizens.

The Rector of the University, Prof Joseph Ntawuyankira, noted that the University would offer an array of courses beginning 2014.  “We shall offer Bachelor degrees in Commerce Studies, Telecommunications and Information and Environment Sciences among others” the Rector disclosed.

The University has been built entirely by the Community at the cost of 1 Billion Burundian francs and is situate on a 25 acre piece of land donated by the Government. The EALA Members later visited the Karera Falls and the source of the Nile in Gitaba before returning to Bujumbura.  The EALA Plenary enters its second and final week beginning today.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon Margaret Nantongo Zziwa gestures as she presents the EAC flag to the Rector of the Kirera University, Prof Joseph Ntawuyankira as other EALA Members look on.