Makerere can be the Havard of Africa
Jan 14, 2010
SHORTLY after Prof Venansius Baryamureeba had been announced the next vice-chancellor of Makerere University last October, I got the feeling he was promising too much.
By Robina Sentumbwe
SHORTLY after Prof Venansius Baryamureeba had been announced the next vice-chancellor of Makerere University last October, I got the feeling he was promising too much. This included clearing all outstanding lecturers’ allowances, amounting to sh1b within two months, improving the fading image of the university, maximising the use of information technology for efficiency and transformation, cutting university expenditures, generating more money, stopping transcript delays, opening more campuses and the list went on.
I honestly felt Baryamureeba was being overly ambitious because some of the things the 40-year-old professor said he would do had eluded all his eight predecessors — all of whom were much older than him and more ‘experienced’ if we have to go by their age.
When Baryamureeba announced that starting this year, students would be receiving their transcripts on the day they graduate, I was impressed.
The transcript saga is one of the most visible evidences of inefficiency at Makerere University, which has eluded the former managers and greatly contributed to the poor image of the institution. For Baryamureeba to change this in a period of less than five months will surely be a miracle. The announcement that starting this year, two upcountry campuses — in Jinja and Fort Portal would open and be fully functional was also quite impressive.
Basing on the above and other reasons, I have started thinking differently. With leaders like Baryamureeba, Makerere University can surely become the Harvard of Africa.
If you look at the history of Makerere, there are some striking similarities with the prestigious Harvard University. They both had humble beginnings. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US. It was established in 1636 with only six students. On the other hand, Makerere is the oldest and most established university in Uganda. When it was established in 1922 it was just a technical school with only 14 students.
After Uganda got its independence in the 1960s, Makerere University developed an international reputation. It nurtured many prominent African leaders like Milton Obote, two-time president of Uganda; Godfrey Binaisa, former president of Uganda; Mutesa II, former king of Buganda and first president of Uganda; Yusuf Lule, former president of Uganda; Joseph Kabila president of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania; Benjamin Mkapa, former president of Tanzania; Mwai Kibaki, president of Kenya; Haj Shehu Shagari, former president of Nigeria; and many other African leaders.
In the same way, seven presidents of the US — John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George W. Bush — are graduates of Harvard.
Harvard University has been on top of the list as the world’s best university for very many years.
With about 20,000 students in 2008/9 (compared to slightly over 32,000 — the current number of students at Makerere), Harvard University had an impressive total income of $3,482,317,000 and spent only $3,464,893,000. This left the university with a surplus of $17,424,000. In addition, that year Harvard had real estate holdings of 4,979 acres plus an endowment of $36.9b.
With a relatively small annual budget of about $56m, Makerere has been engrossed in financial woes for very many years.
The university has been getting some income from private students and donors like the Pfizer Foundation, NORAD, the Carnegie Corporation and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).
Since the 1990s, Makerere’s funding from the Government has consistently fallen short of the institution’s core needs. In 2000/2001, from the sh61b that had been budgeted for, Makerere got only sh23b from the Government. For many years now, Makerere has been running on a deficit budget and has accumulated arrears.
To address its financial woes, Makerere University can borrow a leaf from Harvard University, which takes resource mobilisation seriously and has an effective chief fundraiser to take care of this.
Makerere should also have a clearly and carefully formulated resource mobilisation strategy, preferably with a department of professional fundraisers, whose mandate is to ensure that the university has adequate resources. Gradually, the target should be having surplus finances.
Even if Makerere had all the finances and resources it required, it needs good and effective leaders who not only give lip service, but deliver. It is a good start for the new vice-chancellor.
Baryamureeba rightly attributes the institution’s monetary woes to unguided expenditure, general poor financial management, lack of control structures and systems as well as running the university as an expenditure entity. He has a big challenge of addressing issues of alleged financial mismanagement that discredited the outgoing top management.
With good leadership, an effective resource mobilisation strategy, favourable Government policies and a stable political atmosphere among other things, slowly but surely, other things like quality of graduates, motivated staff, adequate infrastructure and elimination of strikes will fall in place.
At only 78 years, our Makerere is only a ‘baby’ and it is just a matter of time before it will be the Harvard of Africa. After all, it has taken Harvard 364 years to be what it is today.
The writer is the Africa regional representative for The Resource Alliance and also a PHD student at Makerere
SHORTLY after Prof Venansius Baryamureeba had been announced the next vice-chancellor of Makerere University last October, I got the feeling he was promising too much. This included clearing all outstanding lecturers’ allowances, amounting to sh1b within two months, improving the fading image of the university, maximising the use of information technology for efficiency and transformation, cutting university expenditures, generating more money, stopping transcript delays, opening more campuses and the list went on.
I honestly felt Baryamureeba was being overly ambitious because some of the things the 40-year-old professor said he would do had eluded all his eight predecessors — all of whom were much older than him and more ‘experienced’ if we have to go by their age.
When Baryamureeba announced that starting this year, students would be receiving their transcripts on the day they graduate, I was impressed.
The transcript saga is one of the most visible evidences of inefficiency at Makerere University, which has eluded the former managers and greatly contributed to the poor image of the institution. For Baryamureeba to change this in a period of less than five months will surely be a miracle. The announcement that starting this year, two upcountry campuses — in Jinja and Fort Portal would open and be fully functional was also quite impressive.
Basing on the above and other reasons, I have started thinking differently. With leaders like Baryamureeba, Makerere University can surely become the Harvard of Africa.
If you look at the history of Makerere, there are some striking similarities with the prestigious Harvard University. They both had humble beginnings. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US. It was established in 1636 with only six students. On the other hand, Makerere is the oldest and most established university in Uganda. When it was established in 1922 it was just a technical school with only 14 students.
After Uganda got its independence in the 1960s, Makerere University developed an international reputation. It nurtured many prominent African leaders like Milton Obote, two-time president of Uganda; Godfrey Binaisa, former president of Uganda; Mutesa II, former king of Buganda and first president of Uganda; Yusuf Lule, former president of Uganda; Joseph Kabila president of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania; Benjamin Mkapa, former president of Tanzania; Mwai Kibaki, president of Kenya; Haj Shehu Shagari, former president of Nigeria; and many other African leaders.
In the same way, seven presidents of the US — John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George W. Bush — are graduates of Harvard.
Harvard University has been on top of the list as the world’s best university for very many years.
With about 20,000 students in 2008/9 (compared to slightly over 32,000 — the current number of students at Makerere), Harvard University had an impressive total income of $3,482,317,000 and spent only $3,464,893,000. This left the university with a surplus of $17,424,000. In addition, that year Harvard had real estate holdings of 4,979 acres plus an endowment of $36.9b.
With a relatively small annual budget of about $56m, Makerere has been engrossed in financial woes for very many years.
The university has been getting some income from private students and donors like the Pfizer Foundation, NORAD, the Carnegie Corporation and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).
Since the 1990s, Makerere’s funding from the Government has consistently fallen short of the institution’s core needs. In 2000/2001, from the sh61b that had been budgeted for, Makerere got only sh23b from the Government. For many years now, Makerere has been running on a deficit budget and has accumulated arrears.
To address its financial woes, Makerere University can borrow a leaf from Harvard University, which takes resource mobilisation seriously and has an effective chief fundraiser to take care of this.
Makerere should also have a clearly and carefully formulated resource mobilisation strategy, preferably with a department of professional fundraisers, whose mandate is to ensure that the university has adequate resources. Gradually, the target should be having surplus finances.
Even if Makerere had all the finances and resources it required, it needs good and effective leaders who not only give lip service, but deliver. It is a good start for the new vice-chancellor.
Baryamureeba rightly attributes the institution’s monetary woes to unguided expenditure, general poor financial management, lack of control structures and systems as well as running the university as an expenditure entity. He has a big challenge of addressing issues of alleged financial mismanagement that discredited the outgoing top management.
With good leadership, an effective resource mobilisation strategy, favourable Government policies and a stable political atmosphere among other things, slowly but surely, other things like quality of graduates, motivated staff, adequate infrastructure and elimination of strikes will fall in place.
At only 78 years, our Makerere is only a ‘baby’ and it is just a matter of time before it will be the Harvard of Africa. After all, it has taken Harvard 364 years to be what it is today.
The writer is the Africa regional representative for The Resource Alliance and also a PHD student at Makerere