Mamdani speaks out on Makerere
Sep 07, 2011
It is almost a week since Makerere University was indefinitely closed after strikes by both students and staff. Prof. Mahmood Mamdani believes university management should have consulted with the staff, instead of being confrontational.
It is almost a week since Makerere University was indefinitely closed after strikes by both students and staff. Prof. Mahmood Mamdani believes university management should have consulted with the staff, instead of being confrontational.
Days after Makerere University was closed indefinitely following a stalemate in negotaitions over staff salaries, New Vision’s Contributing Editor Paul Busharizi carried out an email interview with Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, the Director of the Institute of Social Research, on the issue. Below are excerpts.
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on the present crisis at Makerere?
ANSWER:A few years ago, I had the privilege of a one-on-one discussion with President Museveni.
It lasted several hours. At one point, the discussion focused on the making of public policy. I cautioned against the temptation to impose policies from above, even if they were correct. To make the point, I gave the example of the 1990 crisis at Makerere.
I was then a member of the MUASA Executive. Government had suggested an end to the model whereby it was expected to foot the entire bill for higher education. We were told to get ready for a new era, one in which the higher education bill would be shared by the Government and families of the students.
At that meeting, I offered the following reflection: “Here is the lesson I draw from that crisis. The Government was right on policy; we, MUASA, were wrong.
Experience has taught us that part of the bill has to be shouldered by the family of the student.
But experience has also taught us that the Government was wrong in not initiating a discussion on the subject, in not even trying to persuade all stake holders, especially staff and students, of the advantages of the new policy.
The responsibility of forging a consensus is part of leadership. Instead, the Government resorted to force. As a result, we all lost: the minister lost, the Government lost, as did students, staff, and management.†The President shrugged his shoulders, and muttered: “That was then.â€
So let us look now at both process and policy.
It would seem we have learnt little since then when it comes to process. The university management has turned the staff strike into a management lockout. In deepening the crisis, management has turned students – who cannot be blamed for what is going on – into main victims in the crisis.
As for the staff, management insists on interpreting the strike as an individual failure by hundreds of academic staff to report to work.
But it is not that. It is a collective strike. The contract notwithstanding, that is a right. The world over, university management works only if it is based on consultation, not dictation.
My first suggestion is that we take steps to reverse the process; from confrontation and victimization to consultation and mutual respect.
The second issue is one of policy.
It seems Makerere has gone as far as it can in extracting fees from students (true or false), what options in terms of income generation does it have?
You are right. Makerere has gone as far as it can in increasing fees. Any further increase and the result will be a closure of access.
The Government is right to insist that Makerere Council does not and should not have the power to increase fees. That decision in a public university rightly belongs to the public power.
But that right goes with a responsibility. The main fiscal responsibility in a public university lies on the shoulders of the Government. If you cannot increase fees, how do you pay for the cost of education? Donors have come in but they are unlikely to pay more than a small slice, say 10% of the total cost.
But donors cannot be relied on in the long run. Donors prefer to invest their money in new projects, so they can influence the direction in which the university develops. They invest strategically. In return for paying 10% of the cost, they want over 50% influence in determining policy.
One thing is clear. Nowhere in the world do universities pay the cost of higher education mainly from fees. In private universities, the difference is paid from an endowment bequeathed by wealthy donors; in public universities, it is paid from the public purse. There is no third way.
In 1990, the Government thinking was led by the World Bank which believed that higher education, unlike primary and secondary education, is a private luxury and should be privately funded. After the East Asian miracle, the World Bank has changed its mind.
It now recognises that higher education is a necessary public good, a part of the necessary investment to build a viable future for all. But the Government thinking, like the thinking of a convert, is lagging behind.
MUASA is right on this. The Government has to bear the bulk of recurrent costs of higher education in a public university. That includes the cost of paying staff salaries.
The simple fact is that Makerere will perpetually hobble from one financial crisis to another so long as the Government does not accept primary fiscal responsibility for the operation of Makerere.
Universities beyond teaching the new generation should also be involved in expanding the boundaries of knowledge. There are fears with universities having to change into businesses; this function may be lost as universities pander to commercial interests, what is your feeling?
There is a further lesson to be learnt from universities the world over. Wherever research is the main component of higher education, whether the university is private or public, the bulk of funding comes from the Government.
In the US, it is the Government funding, under the GI Bill and other defence-related legislation, like Titl
Days after Makerere University was closed indefinitely following a stalemate in negotaitions over staff salaries, New Vision’s Contributing Editor Paul Busharizi carried out an email interview with Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, the Director of the Institute of Social Research, on the issue. Below are excerpts.
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on the present crisis at Makerere?
ANSWER:A few years ago, I had the privilege of a one-on-one discussion with President Museveni.
It lasted several hours. At one point, the discussion focused on the making of public policy. I cautioned against the temptation to impose policies from above, even if they were correct. To make the point, I gave the example of the 1990 crisis at Makerere.
I was then a member of the MUASA Executive. Government had suggested an end to the model whereby it was expected to foot the entire bill for higher education. We were told to get ready for a new era, one in which the higher education bill would be shared by the Government and families of the students.
At that meeting, I offered the following reflection: “Here is the lesson I draw from that crisis. The Government was right on policy; we, MUASA, were wrong.
Experience has taught us that part of the bill has to be shouldered by the family of the student.
But experience has also taught us that the Government was wrong in not initiating a discussion on the subject, in not even trying to persuade all stake holders, especially staff and students, of the advantages of the new policy.
The responsibility of forging a consensus is part of leadership. Instead, the Government resorted to force. As a result, we all lost: the minister lost, the Government lost, as did students, staff, and management.†The President shrugged his shoulders, and muttered: “That was then.â€
So let us look now at both process and policy.
It would seem we have learnt little since then when it comes to process. The university management has turned the staff strike into a management lockout. In deepening the crisis, management has turned students – who cannot be blamed for what is going on – into main victims in the crisis.
As for the staff, management insists on interpreting the strike as an individual failure by hundreds of academic staff to report to work.
But it is not that. It is a collective strike. The contract notwithstanding, that is a right. The world over, university management works only if it is based on consultation, not dictation.
My first suggestion is that we take steps to reverse the process; from confrontation and victimization to consultation and mutual respect.
The second issue is one of policy.
It seems Makerere has gone as far as it can in extracting fees from students (true or false), what options in terms of income generation does it have?
You are right. Makerere has gone as far as it can in increasing fees. Any further increase and the result will be a closure of access.
The Government is right to insist that Makerere Council does not and should not have the power to increase fees. That decision in a public university rightly belongs to the public power.
But that right goes with a responsibility. The main fiscal responsibility in a public university lies on the shoulders of the Government. If you cannot increase fees, how do you pay for the cost of education? Donors have come in but they are unlikely to pay more than a small slice, say 10% of the total cost.
But donors cannot be relied on in the long run. Donors prefer to invest their money in new projects, so they can influence the direction in which the university develops. They invest strategically. In return for paying 10% of the cost, they want over 50% influence in determining policy.
One thing is clear. Nowhere in the world do universities pay the cost of higher education mainly from fees. In private universities, the difference is paid from an endowment bequeathed by wealthy donors; in public universities, it is paid from the public purse. There is no third way.
In 1990, the Government thinking was led by the World Bank which believed that higher education, unlike primary and secondary education, is a private luxury and should be privately funded. After the East Asian miracle, the World Bank has changed its mind.
It now recognises that higher education is a necessary public good, a part of the necessary investment to build a viable future for all. But the Government thinking, like the thinking of a convert, is lagging behind.
MUASA is right on this. The Government has to bear the bulk of recurrent costs of higher education in a public university. That includes the cost of paying staff salaries.
The simple fact is that Makerere will perpetually hobble from one financial crisis to another so long as the Government does not accept primary fiscal responsibility for the operation of Makerere.
Universities beyond teaching the new generation should also be involved in expanding the boundaries of knowledge. There are fears with universities having to change into businesses; this function may be lost as universities pander to commercial interests, what is your feeling?
There is a further lesson to be learnt from universities the world over. Wherever research is the main component of higher education, whether the university is private or public, the bulk of funding comes from the Government.
In the US, it is the Government funding, under the GI Bill and other defence-related legislation, like Titl