EDUCATION | MAKERERE | COUNCIL

KAMPALA - The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Mrs Janet Museveni has urged members of the new governing council for Makerere University to use their four-year term to strive to build the character of the student body that will make the institution special in Africa. 

“If we want to make Makerere a premier university in the country and elsewhere, we must be prepared to go that extra mile: Not just for innovations, research and other academic programmes, but also to build the character that will be identified through all the student body from Makerere,” she said. 

She added that the challenge about the African continent is that universities concentrate on only graduating professionals, but it is also important to ensure that the individuals who graduate from a particular university have that special character that will make them stand out and make a mark on the country locally and who will be competed for globally. 

“The character of young Africans: Both male and female, is what we need to strive to build wherever we are strategically placed by God,” she said. 

Mrs Museveni made the call while inaugurating the 10th Governing Council of Makerere University at a function she hosted at State House Nakasero on Thursday. 

The event was attended by members of the outgoing and new councils, higher education state minister Dr JC Muyingo and senior technical officers from the education ministry, led by the permanent secretary Ketty Lamaro. 

25-member council 

The 25-member council is chaired by Mrs Lorna Magara, while Dan Kidega is vice-chairperson.

The council comprises of three government appointees, the vice-chancellor and his two deputies, university council appointees, plus representatives of the University Senate, Makerere University Convocation, academic staff, administrative staff and staff with disabilities. Others are representatives of various university committees and from the ministries of education, finance and information. 

Renewed inspiration 

Mrs Museveni congratulated the new council members and urged them to have a renewed inspiration to make a mark on the premier university that will pass the test of time. 

This, she said, requires that in their four-year term they take a stand to raise the standard of Makerere University, so that it gains a place of its own which no other university can compete with. 

“This means in this case, fighting the evils in our society that are crippling our young generation, such as sexual perversions, HIV/AIDS and corruption. This actually is fighting one basic evil of failure to build individual self-control,” she said. 

She cited the story of Joseph in the Bible, who had the fear of God in his heart and which, she said, is the building block for self-control. According to the First Lady, this story of Joseph is a big challenge to many young people of these times who have no discipline when it comes to money and sex. 

“It is this lack of the fear of God and the resultant lack of self-control that breeds corruption because the fear of God gives one the discipline that determines what you do and what you don’t do, whether it is during day or in the night and whether people are watching you or not. When you have God in your life, you have very clear boundaries of what you can do and what you cannot do,” the minister said. 

She added that to fight all these evils one has to have that capacity in his heart to say no to what is wrong. 

Battle against moral decadence 

She, therefore, invited the Governing Council to join her in the battle against moral decadence. 

“I am willing to work with you to launch a campaign at Makerere University called: Makerere says no to HIV/AIDS and Corruption. I have no doubt in my mind that this would make a difference not just at Makerere University, but in our country because if Makerere sneezes, all other universities will catch the cold, I can assure you,” she said. 

Cutting-edge research 

Mrs Museveni charged the council to ensure that Makerere University continues to be a significant force in supporting the transformational agenda of the NRM Government, through the continued production of cutting-edge research and innovations, as well as the training of world-class professionals. 

She also urged the members to harness their collective skills, knowledge and abilities to support Makerere to expand its horizons and ensure that the thousands of students that graduate annually and the research projects have visible impact in society and are relevant to Uganda’s development needs. 

She called upon the council to resolve the critical challenges including the incessant staff and perennial student strikes which continue to plague Makerere University and damage its reputation and learning environment. 

Building culture of integrity 

The minister also urged them to intentionally consider placing emphasis on building a culture of integrity and ethical conduct within the entire university community. 

“This effort should be woven from the time of enrolment on to their graduation so as to send out professionals who model the fundamentals of stewardship, honesty, respect and fairness in every sphere of life. 

She pledged the Government’s unwavering commitment to support all universities to fulfill their mandates. 

Mrs Museveni congratulated Magara and Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe upon their re-election as chairperson council and vice-chancellor respectively, saying this is a vote of confidence in their abilities. 

She thanked the duo for providing exemplary leadership and reiterated the Government’s readiness to continue working with them to harness the achievements of their previous terms to enable Makerere scale up to even greater heights in the years ahead. 

She also appreciated the outgoing members of the university council for their dedicated and diligent service to Makerere and the nation during their term. 

Leveraging momentum 

Magara said the outgoing council, which assumed office in December 2018, made significant strides in repositioning Makerere University for the century a head and now, the new council is leveraging the momentum set in motion by the outgoing team to deliver a research-led university. 

She pointed out that to ensure a research-led knowledge hub that serves the needs of society will, however, require the restructuring and retooling of staff and infrastructure to meet the 21st century’s demands for research and innovation. 

Magara said the key priorities for the new council include the completion of the restructuring process, digitalisation of the university business processes, improved and enhanced student services and continuous streamlining of the university’s research and innovations agenda to meet national development needs and priorities. 

Nawangwe gave an update on the health of the university including the discipline, academic affairs, research, service to community and last year’s celebrations of Makerere’s 100 years of service to humanity. 

He said over the last five years, Makerere has experienced a steady improvement in staff and student discipline and that the university has not closed for a single day as a result of a staff or student strike. 

He appreciated the First Lady for the enormous support and guidance to the Council and Management to stabilize Makerere University.