Change policy to train job creators
Jan 19, 2009
This graduation week, Makerere University Faculty of Technology has given Uganda and the world a great gift of hope and courage — the prototype environment-friendly vehicle. The vehicle is on exhibition in Torino, Italy.
This graduation week, Makerere University Faculty of Technology has given Uganda and the world a great gift of hope and courage — the prototype environment-friendly vehicle. The vehicle is on exhibition in Torino, Italy.
Though the Makerere students developed the ‘heart’ of the vehicle and did the welding of the body, they will not carry the prototype back to Uganda because they could not fund the project.
Professor Sandy Tickodri Togboa found it difficult to bring back his team of brilliant undergraduates because they got numerous job and scholarship offers. Yet back home, most of these students and 12,000 others, graduate this week with no promise of employment.
The winning team has proposed a transportation research centre, and the first phase is estimated to cost sh3.1b, but as of now, they are stuck with no funds. An earlier fundraising campaign towards the environment-friendly project only produced sh10m.
In the 1960s’ the Asian Tigers (Singapore, Malaysia) were at the same economic levels with Uganda but by emphasing technological development and entrepreneurship they have experienced exponential growth.
This week Makerere University passes out 12,000 students. This year alone the other four public universities and the 23 private ones will graduate another 30,000 students. The civil service, the largest single employer, stood at 259,524 in 2007. Between 2003 and 2007 it grew by only 30,000. Ninety percent of this workforce is still in their productive years.
With such huge graduate numbers and a flooded but talented labour force, Uganda has the capacity and ability to change her fortunes. However, for starters, let us stop paying lip service to job creation and actively begin changing policy and the curricula at all levels to train job creators rather than job seekers. The Government, development partners and all stakeholders will have to change policy, funding priorities and the curricula deliberately to produce job creators.
Our universities and schools need more enterprising lecturers like Tickodri Togboa who encourage students maximise their potential in spite of the limited resources.
Though the Makerere students developed the ‘heart’ of the vehicle and did the welding of the body, they will not carry the prototype back to Uganda because they could not fund the project.
Professor Sandy Tickodri Togboa found it difficult to bring back his team of brilliant undergraduates because they got numerous job and scholarship offers. Yet back home, most of these students and 12,000 others, graduate this week with no promise of employment.
The winning team has proposed a transportation research centre, and the first phase is estimated to cost sh3.1b, but as of now, they are stuck with no funds. An earlier fundraising campaign towards the environment-friendly project only produced sh10m.
In the 1960s’ the Asian Tigers (Singapore, Malaysia) were at the same economic levels with Uganda but by emphasing technological development and entrepreneurship they have experienced exponential growth.
This week Makerere University passes out 12,000 students. This year alone the other four public universities and the 23 private ones will graduate another 30,000 students. The civil service, the largest single employer, stood at 259,524 in 2007. Between 2003 and 2007 it grew by only 30,000. Ninety percent of this workforce is still in their productive years.
With such huge graduate numbers and a flooded but talented labour force, Uganda has the capacity and ability to change her fortunes. However, for starters, let us stop paying lip service to job creation and actively begin changing policy and the curricula at all levels to train job creators rather than job seekers. The Government, development partners and all stakeholders will have to change policy, funding priorities and the curricula deliberately to produce job creators.
Our universities and schools need more enterprising lecturers like Tickodri Togboa who encourage students maximise their potential in spite of the limited resources.