Kigali — THE Rector of Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) has said that the institute is devising mechanisms to cover the budget deficit occasioned by a recent cut of 25 percent in funding by the government.

Prof George Njoroge told The New Times yesterday that the institution is now planning to use its wealth of skills and knowledge to generate supplementary income. "Universities have to be run as enterprises. We give computer skills to students, why can't we use them to produce and sell computer software?" he wondered.

He said that KIE will soon create a company which will provide consultancy services in specialized areas such as education, chemistry, physics and business. "We employ lecturers with PhD degrees in several fields and we are thinking of providing certain services to the private sector," he explained.

Prof. Njoroge also said that they were also trying to cut spending through proper use of utilities. "Look at my office; do you see any lights on? We've sensitized our students to own our infrastructure. We are closing all possible gaps of wastage of resources such as water. The last student to move out of a classroom is required to switch off the lights."

He also added that any lecturer with a workload that amounts to less than 20 hours per week will be paid as a part-time employee, which he said will also save some money.