NUR: Genocide survivor students urged to focus on Academic

 

Genocide survivor students have been called on to study hard for academic Excellency; achieve self-reliance and avoid thinking they have to be supported all the time.

The call was made by different leaders on April 22^nd 2013 when students of National University of Rwanda (NUR) were commemorating 1994 Tutsi genocide victims.

“Genocide survivor students, you are not incapable,” says Dr. Olivier Mazimpaka, one of the lecturers at National University of Rwanda and a member of former genocide survivor students association.

Dr. Mazimpaka denotes “If you always say you must get special attention, it only puts you in a feeble situation without zeal to work.”

I speak as a survivor and if it was somebody else you would mistake that person. Sometimes it’s not good to feel you are special and entitled to school fees from FARG even if you fail to get the required pass mark in secondary school,” he laments.

Dr. Mazimpaka told students to work hard and provide for themselves in addition to studying hard so that whoever fails FARG steps in.

He adds that “If you do not tell this to your students as a teacher, you are doing them harm than good. When they feel little need for competiton, they are always performing poorly in school.”

Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, President of IBUKA at national level told the students that exams are not harder than the tragedy they went through.

“No big challenge you can face now than what you saw during genocide. Studies are not much harder than problems you handle in everyday life,” highlights Dusingizemungu.

Dr. Vincent Biruta, minister of education asked students to be inspired by people who stopped genocide and other leaders who grew in up in persecution but have led the country to another step.

Education minister asserts: “Among the people that stopped genocide were orphans and refugees who knew no good life. However, they committed themselves to fighting for their rights and eradicating bad politics and leadership that once existed in Rwanda.”

“This is an important lesson that genocide survivors should learn from this act of commemoration,” he adds.