UMUTARA POLYTECHNIC The population of the Polytechnic has increased from 200 students and 15 staff in 2006, to 4.000 students and 250 staff currently.
Umutara Polytechnic (UP) was established as an institution of higher learning in 2006, on the site of a former rural secondary school, with very limited facilities for laboratories, workshops, equipment, lecture rooms and so on. In 2009 the institution was gazetted as a public high learning institution by an act of parliament and is fully regulated and funded by government. This number is projecte
d to grow to 5.000 in 2012, 10.000 by 2015 and to 15,000 by 2020 to contribute to the government’s vision for the economic development of the country. To support the economic transformation of Rwanda, UP is focused on vocational and technical diploma and degree programs. It is science based, with the following faculties: Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering & Design,ICT, Commerce & Applied Economics and four research institutes addressing key development challenges in the fields of agriculture, construction, tourism, IT, health and education. The institution struggles to provide the infrastructure to meet the needs of current student numbers. To support the projected growth to meet the needs of the nation, substantial development of the existing infrastructure is vital. Critical needs are equipped laboratories and workshops, suitably stocked library and computing facilities, sports and social facilities. Also essential as student and staff numbers grow are additional classrooms, offices, hostel and residential accommodation. In spite of the many infrastructure limitations that impede the institution in properly meeting the needs of the students and fulfilling its role in the capacity development of the country, it is essential that this role is fulfilled; specifically the role to alleviate the skills gap by implementing the short, medium and long terms strategies described above. To achieve this requires both an effective implementation strategy and implementation resources, such as for infrastructure development.
