Mbarara University @ 25

MUST trains 1,041 doctors in 25 years

By Abdulkarim Ssengendo

Thousands of people are expected to attend the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), taking place today at Kihumuro Campus. President Yoweri Museveni is expected to be the chief guest. The President will commission the faculty of applied sciences and Technology, which opens the way for the university to fulfill its spectrum of technology.

He will also lay the foundation stone for the development of Kihumuro Campus and unveil the bust of Professor Fredrick Kayanja to be placed at Kihumuro. Prof. Kayanja was the first Vice Chancellor of MUST. After 25 years, MUST has contributed a total of 7,657 graduates to the country’s human resource pool. Of these, 1,041 are doctors, with 712 male and 329 female.

The big number of doctors is credited to the philosophy of community-oriented training given to MUST medical students. Community training is a great strength that to moving into research-based and other non clinical areas of service. From a humble beginning of five members of staff, MUST now has a staff of over 500 members with about 256 academic staff.

Professor Fredrick I. B. Kayanja the founding vice chancellor of the university, is credited for the success of the university. Kayanja built MUST from scratch, turning it into an internationally recognised institution. MUST collaborates with reputable universities such as Harvad University in the US, University of Virginia, McMaster University in Canada, Massachusetts (MGH) in Boston US and Lund University Sweden. Prof. Kayanja officially retired from his job as vice chancellor on Friday.

He handed over office to Prof. Celestino Obua at a function witnessed by the Minister of Education, Maj. Jesca Alupo.During his time, Kayanja also worked as the chief executive of the university and professor of anatomy. “I have enjoyed my stay at MUST, and have accepted the request from the medical school to continue teaching in my old age. I enjoyed teaching students and it has kept me young and up to the mark,” Kayanja said in an interview.

He said the process of starting MUST was difficult since it started at a time when Uganda had just emerged from the civil war. At the same time, Uganda was under the structural adjustment of the World Bank. He acknowledged President Museveni who was concerned that Uganda had only one public university at a time when the world was growing very fast

“The President developed the idea that saw MUST starting to expand education in Uganda,” Kayanja recalled. He also commended the Cuban government and the Ministry of Education for their support as well as the pioneer teaching staff for their efforts in making the project a success.

Mbarara University of Science and Technology was founded in 1989 with the faculty of medicine offering undergraduate programmes in medicine and surgery. By 2001 it had also opened the faculties of science and that of development studies. Their mission is to create a highly skilled workforce that is essential for sustainable economic growth and development. At MUST, they train doctors to heal the sick and maintain a health population. They teach the next generation of Uganda’s scientists and young people who will manage the development of agriculture and industries for the years to come.

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