Private higher education helps with access, development Higher education in post-genocide Rwanda has experienced significant growth over the past 25 years – from a handful of universities to more than 30 universities and higher learning institutions, of which 26 are private. In 2019 the total enrolment in all of the higher learning institutions was 86,140 students. Just more than half were enrolled in private institutions. The National University of Rwanda, better known by the French acronym UNR, was the only public university 25 years ago. The Adventist University of Central Africa (originally Université Adventiste d'Afrique Centrale) started classes in 1984, to become the first private institution in the country.