A Scottish initiative to help improve the education of Rwandan women is getting off the ground with recently confirmed support of four Scottish universities and some schools in Edinburgh.
The Universities of Dundee, Stirling. Glasgow Caledonian and St Andrews have agreed to waive the fees for six female Rwandan students for one year postgraduate study in Scotland starting in September 2003. A number of schools in Edinburgh including St George's school for girls, Balerno high school, Currie community high school, St Mary's primary school in Leith and the Cowgate under 5 centre are about to be twinned with schools in Rwanda.
Spearheading the initiative is Gerda Siann, Professor Emeritus in gender studies from the University of Dundee who is passionate about providing improved educational opportunities for girls to whom it is denied. She explains: "Like elsewhere in Africa, girls in Rwanda face numerous obstacles that limit their access and opportunities for education. The events of war and genocide have worsened the situation. However, more recently there has been impressive progress by the Rwandan government and civil society in reconstructing the society. We hope that Scotland can reinforce this progress by its initiatives in postgraduate education and twinning schools as research indicates that in developing countries schools contribute as much to national development as higher education. Professor Siann is travelling to Kigali this month to conduct interviews and select students for the Rwanda University Scholarship scheme.
The Rwandan government has agreed to meet the subsistence costs of the six women and the Association of University Teachers has made a significant contribution to the cost of airfares from Rwanda to Scotland. In addition, the University of Dundee has agreed to give some money for hosting meetings in Dundee for the successful students during their year of study so they can keep in touch with each other.