Barya out of Makerere VC race, Nawangwe in lead

By Vision Reporter

Professor Venansius Baryamureeba was Thursday knocked out of contention for Makerere University's next job as Vice Chancellor.

Associate Professor Barnabas Nawangwe is now reportedly leading in the race which had featured five final candidates before a decision by the university’s top academic body, the Senate saw Baryamureeba and Katunguka Rwakishaya stopped short in their tracks.

Earlier on Thursday, the Senate selected three of the five candidates vying for the position currently occupied by Venansius Baryamureeba in an acting capacity.

Baryamureeba will stay in the position until the next VC is announced.

Professors John Ddumba Ssentamu, Edward K. Kirumira and Barnabas Nawangwe were the final three sieved out of the original five contenders.

Prior to the Thursday proceedings, the three chosen candidates would be sent to the University Council, which would later decide on the one or two names that would be sent to the Chancellor for appointment as Makerere’s next substantive Vice Chancellor.

The race started with nine professors and associate professors.

However, in the first round, the Search committee dropped Prof. Elisam Magara and Prof. Bizimenyera, who had expressed interest in the job. They were not even shortlisted for interviews.   

This week, the Search Committee knocked out Professors Tonny J. Oyana and Augustus Nuwagaba.    

The final five professors' names including the acting VC, Venansius Baryamureeba’s were then sent to the Senate.       

Conditions

As required, the next Makerere University VC must at least be an associate professor, have "considerable" administrative and management experience, and must be aged between   40 and 60 years.

The Council resolved some time ago that Makerere's next VC must have at one time taught in a reputable university, supervised at least a good number of graduate students, and should have the capacity to get the university grants.

He must also have an international recognition. Such a person must also have leadership experience in Government or in the world of academia.

The Vice Chancellor is the Chief Executive of the University, responsible for the academic, administrative and financial management of the university and is answerable to the University Council.        

Makerere University as an institution was established in 1922 and is governed by the University Council in accordance with the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001.

It currently has an enrolment of 47,000 students under a collegiate system.