What Makerere University can learn from Prof Wasswa Balunywa

By Capt (Rtd) Justus Tindyebwa

On May 28, 2018, the President wrote to the Minister of Education instructing her to renew Prof Wasswa Balunywa's contract as Principal of Makerere University Business School (MUBS). I agree with the President on this.

Prof Wasswa Balunywa is credited for starting private sponsorship and evening classes at the then faculty of commerce at MUK in the early 1990s. The country then had almost only one University yet students number trying to join was increasing by day. The situation was desperate. 

Recently, someone at MUK thought long and hard and decided the best thing it needs was scrapping the evening classes. That because they had failed to manage funds from the programme. Officially, the excuse was that they want to turn MUK into a graduate University. Do these academia understand our needs as a country? We are on receiving end of finished products right from tooth picks to automobiles.

Therefore, we mainly need technicians to do repairs and maintenance. Then some few Engineers to supervise them. On the other hand, countries which are involved in manufacturing (like USA, Japan) will need researchers to do research on new products and improving the existing ones. Therefore Universities like Tokyo, Harvard, Oxford need to produce more post graduates to do research for these industries. 

If I was a planner at MUK, I would close all those post graduate schools except the one at medical school. The medical post graduates are the only ones who are relevant here. This would create room for more undergraduates. As a country, we need more graduates and less of post graduates. To expand their knowledge, the graduates would do post graduate diplomas and certificates. "Knowing little about much" as opposed to "knowing much about little (PHDs)".

One of the secrets our educationists don't understand is that real life is simple. They fail to connect their educational materials to real life. As a result, they are lost in obstruct and hard theory yet real life needs simple common sense. There is no X and Y. Except maybe if you're working at NASA (rocket science),  Apple or Microsoft. One time, Bitature told us that he mostly employees S4s in his companies. As long as one knows his multiplication tables. 

If anything, the guys who have done wonders here in industry, business, farming etc are S4s, S6s, diplomas and atmost graduates. When the Google boys finished their PhD at Harvard, they went on to start google which has made a big break in tech. Where are all our PhDs? They are moving around looking for government jobs. When they fail, they become frustrated and bitter as if anyone owes them a living. It's not how much you know but how you use what you know that matters. Here PhDs are  mainly meant to improve one's CV and satisfy their ego. 

Then why are our academia possessed with post graduates? COPY and PASTE! Because Harvard, Oxford, Tokyo Universities are in post graduates, our academia here think it's time for post graduates. Poor them. The President calls it "a disoriented, pro-imperialism academia." 

Prof Balunywa is also credited for starting regional campuses for MUBS. These have helped to reduce congestion in Kampala, making university education affordable and enabling many to access quality education. 

He is one of the few geniuses we have, an original thinker, and his thinking isn't fixed in a box. Therefore, we still need him. But one of his priorities in this term should be to groom another "Balunywa". There are many potential ones outside there. This will help to ensure continuity. Your great achievements may go to ruin when you finally leave the stage. When Amanya Mushega had just come in as the Minister of Education, he went to meet the Profs at MUK.

One by one, a Don would stand up, introduce himself and then proudly declare that "am the only specialist in this and this field in the country". The declarations went on and on. At the end of it all, Mushega spoke. He said being the only specialist in the country is failure on their part and went on to challenge them to groom other specialists. That culture of am the only one has since reduced at Muk. Over to you good old Prof.

The writer is a retired Army Officer, holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a post graduate diploma in Education (PGDE). He is also passionate about Education.