NRM has achieved the goal of healthy, educated population – Museveni

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KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that his government has achieved its goal of having a healthy and educated population.

“The literacy rate in Uganda is now at 80% compared to 43% in 1986.  Life expectancy has grown from 43 years in 1986 to 65 years today. Therefore, Uganda under the National Resentence Movement (NRM) has managed to achieve the goal of a healthy and educated population,” Museveni stated in a speech read by the third deputy prime minister Rukia Nakadama at the 4th graduation of the Islamic Call University College based at Gadaffi National Mosque on Saturday.

The President noted that in 1986, human resources in Uganda were poor characterised by lack of education opportunities, skills and poor health.

He revealed that when NRM came into power, it introduced universal primary education (UPE) in 1996, universal secondary education (USE) in 2007, improved health maternal care and launched mass Immunisation campaigns against killer diseases like polio, measles and many others that have enabled it to address the challenges.

Museveni underscored the importance of education saying it is a precursor for individual and national development.

“We liberalised education and health sectors to allow the private sector. For example, faith-based institutions, cultural institutions, companies, and individuals set up schools, health centres, universities, tertiary and vocational institutions. As a result, access to education opportunities at all levels has increased,” the President noted.

The President noted no country can be transformed without transforming the human resources saying human resources are more important than natural resources.

“Some of the most prosperous societies in the whole world have got plenty of human resources and scarcity of natural resources. For example, China, Japan, South Korea and others. These societies are more prosperous than Saud Arabia with a great deal of oil and Uganda with plenty of everything. Therefore, the riches in the country are not in the ground but in its population if it is highly skilled,” Museveni said. 

He said the remaining challenge for his government is one of unemployment among the young graduates whose solution he said is prioritising the teaching of courses that are relevant to the job market in the private sector.

“The public sector has only 469,216 jobs which are few jobs to the population of 45 million people. This means that the biggest percentage of graduates must seek employment in the private sector,” the President said.

Third deputy prime minsiter Rukia Nakadama (C) officiated at the 4th graduation ceremony of Islamic Call University College in Old Kampala on Saturday. (All Photos by Farooq Kasule)

The President has appealed to the universities to equip students with skills which are needed by the private sector, noting that as the government attracts more investment, the demand for a skilled workforce will also increase.

“Unlike the past regimes which suffocated the private sector thus undermining its capacity to create jobs, the NRM has created a favourable environment to attract local and foreign investment,” the President said.

He said the government is prioritising industrialisation to cut down the haemorrhage caused by the excessive importation of items that can competitively be produced in Uganda.

“When we import these items, we donate both money and jobs to foreigners leaving our children unemployed. More industries in Uganda means more jobs for the population and taxes to the government to carry out development projects,” he said.

The President congratulated the 209 graduates for attaining an important milestone in their respective academic journey which he said comes as a reward for their commitment, sacrifice and discipline during the study period. 

“I urge the graduates to stand out in society as agents of economic transformation by utilising the knowledge and skills acquired. I also urge the graduates to refrain from reckless and dangerous lifestyles such as drunkenness and substance abuse among others,” he said.

The President tasked the graduates to be responsive to the rapidly changing global economy which is mainly driven by science and technology.

Speaking at the event, the mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje also the chancellor of the university revealed that they have since changed the name of the university from the Islamic University College to Insan International University after the Kuwait-based Insan charity organisation availed them the funds to run the university.

“Changing this name does not mean that the university is now owned by Insan charity organisation. It is going to remain here but a branch will be opened in Kuwait,” Mubaje said.

Mubaje thanked the government and the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) for supporting them. He said their focus is on securing the charter under the new name.
Eng. Badru Kiggundu, the chairperson of the university’s governing council said the mission of the university is rooted in the principles of Islam.

Dr Abdallah Idris Serwadda, the university vice-chancellor said they have since updated their courses which had been declared expired by the NCHE.

The university was founded in 2011 as a branch of the Islamic Call University College based in Tripoli Libya but following the downfall of the Muammar Gadaffi government, funding stopped.

The Gadaffi government procured land in Kiyunga in Mukono district to host the university but it has since been sold off.

Currently, the university is now housed at Gadaffi National Mosque complex. Mubajje on Saturday said that plans are underway to build the required lecture rooms.