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The university "Laique Advantiste de Kigali" (Unilak) has defied a directive from the Education ministry requiring it to submit academic credentials of recruited lecturers for verification. According to sources in the ministry, the university leadership continues to recruit students. Unilak secured a provisional license but the ministry nevertheless refused to grant it the degree-awarding accreditation, citing lack of capacity to provide quality education.

The Rwanda National Examinations Council (RNEC) has stepped up efforts to crack down on academic fraudsters. The organisations will have to pass academic testimonials of all applicants to RNEC for scrutiny before they select the competent employees.

Falsification of report cards to obtain admission into private schools in Kigali is listed as one of the major challenges hampering education quality. Speaking during an education workshop organised by Kigali City Council, an education activist from Power in Education, a local civil society organisation, revealed that a recent survey indicated that over 100 students in various city schools used forged report cards to obtain admission.

For the past three years, the Rwanda Education Board (REB) has not ranked schools when releasing results of national examinations. Their reason is simple – ranking increases unnecessary pressure and competition in schools, which promotes malpractices. Surprisingly, in the just released national examinations for primary and ordinary level, an increase in exam malpractices was spotted. In Primary Six alone, cases rose by an eye watering 80.4 per cent to 455, up from 89 reported cases in 2014.

Police in Kayonza District are holding a teacher of Groupe Scolaire Kabare in Ngoma District for allegedly selling forged academic report cards to students. The teacher was arrested on Wednesday in Karambi Cell of Murundi Sector, while his accomplices are still at large.

Cases of plagiarism at Rwandan universities have decreased. Students are required to submit their assignments and dissertations to the anti-plagiarism software, Turnitin before submitting them for grading. An acceptable work needs to be less than 15% or the student is disqualified and cannot graduate.

Over 100 students at the private KIM University in Kigali, Rwanda, have not been allowed to graduate in July 2021 after authorities detected that they had altered their grades in the university system. According to the Rwanda Bureau of Investigation, the suspects are accused of electronically falsifying documents and could face sentences of five to seven years in prison and fines ranging from 3 to 5 million Rwandan francs (about US$5,000).

Following the arrest of a lecturer at the University of Kigali over allegedly forging academic documents, Rwanda’s Higher Education Council (HEC) decided to withdraw recognition for PhD degrees obtained from the United States Atlantic International University. The university has an accreditation from a UK based independent international educational agency, however, dismissed by HEC, because it is not a government agency in charge of accreditation in the UK or elsewhere.

According to a report from TI Rwanda, female students are asked for sexual favours in exchange for marks and are often subjected to gender-based corruption when writing their dissertations. The report reveals that sexual harassment in universities is still prevalent and includes sexually suggestive language, sexual extortion by superiors and pressure to perform sexual favours in return for opportunities. The leadership structures of universities are advised to put in place measures to identify and punish any gender-based issue and protect informants when cases arise.