KIU didn’t start climbing the tree from the top
<b>Karooro Okurut</b><br><i><b>A literary and socio-political analyst</b></i><br><br>Since the advent of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Uganda’s university portfolio has grown by leaps and bounds. In 1986, there was not so much as a whiff of
Karooro Okurut
A literary and socio-political analyst
Since the advent of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Uganda’s university portfolio has grown by leaps and bounds. In 1986, there was not so much as a whiff of anything called a private university. We had only one university – Makerere.
Todate there are 26 universities (so far); of which only five are public. The rest are private. Today I would like to concentrate on Kampala International University (KIU), one of 21 private universities, in order to showcase what we will call the triumph of the private sector.
As I pen this column, KIU has just been granted a Charter by Government, making it only one of five private universities with this status – the others being Uganda Christian University Mukono, Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi, Islamic University in Uganda, and Nkumba University. Getting a Charter means a lot to a university; because it is the ultimate endorsement of quality and opens the gateway for and gives latitude to the institution to exercise its full potential with minimum intervention from the state.
It also endorses and ensures international recognition for the institution, so that under continued good management, with time KIU should operate at the same levels as other universities of international renown.
KIU did not climb the tree starting from the top; this achievement marks an interesting climax of a long journey that KIU has trudged over the years. It started with the very basic – “Letter of Interim Authority†from the Ministry of Education granting it permission to start the institution in 2001. It then moved a step higher to a Provisional Licence granted by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in 2005.
Now four years later it has the ultimate: a University Charter — a document issued by a sovereign authority, creating a public or private education institution defining its privileges and purposes and mandating it to do all things that a university aspires.
What is remarkable is that it has jumped so quickly in these years, moving faster than many similar institutions that began even earlier, meaning that despite the years of toil to the top, the university was doing many things right.
Looking at the progress of KIU, those who are religious will be reminded of the Bible verses Zechariah 4:10 – “For who hath despised the day of small beginnings?â€; and Job 8:7 – “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increaseâ€.
The political scientists shall remember the wise words of the great Indian, Mahtma Ghandhi: “At first they ignore you; then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you. Then you win.†And that is precisely the story of KIU. When businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba launched it, some institutions and individuals that ought to have been supportive instead fought and opposed it. Mercifully, they were very few.
Hassan maintained his silence as he took what was no less than a gigantic leap of faith into the unknown.
He did not only concentrate on what people call the easier deals – the humanities. He launched into the deep, taking on feared professional courses like law and medicine.
After a shaky start typical of any child learning how to walk, KIU staggered under the weight of load and sheer expectation.
But as we speak today, the Facuty of Law is one of the most respected in the country and is one of only five in the country that is accredited by the Law Council to produce graduates that are admitted to the Law Development Centre (LDC) for the Bar course.
The KIU Western Campus is one of the most delightful places to visit in western Uganda and is home to the school of medicine – the only private one in Uganda and as a matter of fact, in East and Central Africa that is recognised and mandated to produce all manner of health professionals.
Altogether KIU brings together staff and students from more than 15 countries, both inside and outside Africa. The Western Campus in particular is one of the success stories in western Uganda, bringing a huge change in the local economy. People have invested in hostels for students and houses for staff accommodation. Others are growing food in their shambas just to sell to the university.
Students who had problems travelling to Kampala for education now have quality education readily accessible in their neighbourhood.
The local population is also benefiting from mixing with people from other countries and cultures and learning from them – as they too learn from the locals.
We are talking about literally a whole new world. You wonder how much further we would soar as a country if every district had five such entrepreneurs all unleashing their entrepreneurial skills all over the place!
The success of KIU is in many ways the result of having peace and stability in the country for such a long time. When a country is stable the doors are opened for people to exercise their full potential.
Secondly, this is also the triumph of the Government decision to encourage a private sector-driven economy. This has been done by liberalising the economy so that Government merely concentrates on establishing the right policies and parameters of legislation that facilitate private entrepreneurship to flourish.
This is how modern economies are run and that is how the “Asian Tigers†have been able to grow so rapidly.
In the long run, this is also an excellent insurance for the people and the economy because once the private sector is strong it insulates the economy against external shocks.
The logic is that the economy is squarely in the hands of the people and Government is merely playing umpire to a process that is moving steadily.
Also, when many businesspeople invest heavily they have a stake in upholding the security of the country because they do not want their investments to go up in flames.
In this case therefore, the Government is doing its lubimbi by encouraging a strong private sector to grow. The ball now is in the hands of the people: take advantage of the enabling political economy to realize your aspirations.
A literary and socio-political analyst
Since the advent of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Uganda’s university portfolio has grown by leaps and bounds. In 1986, there was not so much as a whiff of anything called a private university. We had only one university – Makerere.
Todate there are 26 universities (so far); of which only five are public. The rest are private. Today I would like to concentrate on Kampala International University (KIU), one of 21 private universities, in order to showcase what we will call the triumph of the private sector.
As I pen this column, KIU has just been granted a Charter by Government, making it only one of five private universities with this status – the others being Uganda Christian University Mukono, Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi, Islamic University in Uganda, and Nkumba University. Getting a Charter means a lot to a university; because it is the ultimate endorsement of quality and opens the gateway for and gives latitude to the institution to exercise its full potential with minimum intervention from the state.
It also endorses and ensures international recognition for the institution, so that under continued good management, with time KIU should operate at the same levels as other universities of international renown.
KIU did not climb the tree starting from the top; this achievement marks an interesting climax of a long journey that KIU has trudged over the years. It started with the very basic – “Letter of Interim Authority†from the Ministry of Education granting it permission to start the institution in 2001. It then moved a step higher to a Provisional Licence granted by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in 2005.
Now four years later it has the ultimate: a University Charter — a document issued by a sovereign authority, creating a public or private education institution defining its privileges and purposes and mandating it to do all things that a university aspires.
What is remarkable is that it has jumped so quickly in these years, moving faster than many similar institutions that began even earlier, meaning that despite the years of toil to the top, the university was doing many things right.
Looking at the progress of KIU, those who are religious will be reminded of the Bible verses Zechariah 4:10 – “For who hath despised the day of small beginnings?â€; and Job 8:7 – “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increaseâ€.
The political scientists shall remember the wise words of the great Indian, Mahtma Ghandhi: “At first they ignore you; then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you. Then you win.†And that is precisely the story of KIU. When businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba launched it, some institutions and individuals that ought to have been supportive instead fought and opposed it. Mercifully, they were very few.
Hassan maintained his silence as he took what was no less than a gigantic leap of faith into the unknown.
He did not only concentrate on what people call the easier deals – the humanities. He launched into the deep, taking on feared professional courses like law and medicine.
After a shaky start typical of any child learning how to walk, KIU staggered under the weight of load and sheer expectation.
But as we speak today, the Facuty of Law is one of the most respected in the country and is one of only five in the country that is accredited by the Law Council to produce graduates that are admitted to the Law Development Centre (LDC) for the Bar course.
The KIU Western Campus is one of the most delightful places to visit in western Uganda and is home to the school of medicine – the only private one in Uganda and as a matter of fact, in East and Central Africa that is recognised and mandated to produce all manner of health professionals.
Altogether KIU brings together staff and students from more than 15 countries, both inside and outside Africa. The Western Campus in particular is one of the success stories in western Uganda, bringing a huge change in the local economy. People have invested in hostels for students and houses for staff accommodation. Others are growing food in their shambas just to sell to the university.
Students who had problems travelling to Kampala for education now have quality education readily accessible in their neighbourhood.
The local population is also benefiting from mixing with people from other countries and cultures and learning from them – as they too learn from the locals.
We are talking about literally a whole new world. You wonder how much further we would soar as a country if every district had five such entrepreneurs all unleashing their entrepreneurial skills all over the place!
The success of KIU is in many ways the result of having peace and stability in the country for such a long time. When a country is stable the doors are opened for people to exercise their full potential.
Secondly, this is also the triumph of the Government decision to encourage a private sector-driven economy. This has been done by liberalising the economy so that Government merely concentrates on establishing the right policies and parameters of legislation that facilitate private entrepreneurship to flourish.
This is how modern economies are run and that is how the “Asian Tigers†have been able to grow so rapidly.
In the long run, this is also an excellent insurance for the people and the economy because once the private sector is strong it insulates the economy against external shocks.
The logic is that the economy is squarely in the hands of the people and Government is merely playing umpire to a process that is moving steadily.
Also, when many businesspeople invest heavily they have a stake in upholding the security of the country because they do not want their investments to go up in flames.
In this case therefore, the Government is doing its lubimbi by encouraging a strong private sector to grow. The ball now is in the hands of the people: take advantage of the enabling political economy to realize your aspirations.