THE OCCASION OF THE 58TH GRADUATION CONGREGATION OF MAKERERE UNIVERSITY MONDAY 28TH JANUARY-FRIDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2008

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS BY THE VICE CHANCELLOR PROFESSOR LIVINGSTONE S LUBOOBI ON THE OCCASION OF THE 58TH GRADUATION CONGREGATION OF MAKERERE UNIVERSITY MONDAY 28TH JANUARY-FRIDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2008 Professor George Mondo Kagonyera, Chancellor of Makerere University Your Lordships the Judges of the Judicature Honourable Minister of Education and Sports Honourable Ministers Honourable Members of Parliament Members of the Diplomatic Corps Religious Leaders Your Worship the Mayor Kampala City Government Officials Chairperson and Members of Makerere University Council My Colleagues the Vice-Chancellors, Rectors and Principals My Colleagues in the University Administration Members of the University Senate Members of Staff of Makerere University Parents and Guardians Graduands Ladies and Gentlemen BACKGROUND Welcome On behalf of the Management and Staff of Makerere University, I welcome you all to the 58th Graduation Ceremony I would like to welcome and congratulate in a special way all the graduands and their parents/guardians gathered here today Congratulations on your perseverance and having come out victorious I extend our special welcome to our new Chancellor, Professor George Mondo Kagonyera Let me take this opportunity to congratulate him on his recent appointment and installation as Chancellor of Makerere University I would like to inform the congregation that you are not new to Makerere You have served this institution right from 1971 as a lecturer, rising to the rank of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, twice as Dean of the same Faculty and later as Chairman of the University’s Appointments Board We are happy to have you back with us and we pledge our full support to you, Mr Chancellor Sir and we look forward to a fruitful time together during your tenure of office We thank His Excellence the President of the Republic of Uganda and Visitor of this University for appointing you and the Rt Hon Prime Minister for installing you Tribute to the Outgoing Chancellor Mr Chancellor Sir, allow me to extend our sincere gratitude to the outgoing Chancellor, Rt Hon Prime Minister, Professor Apolo Nsibambi for his solid support to the University over the last four years We have found him, invaluable in our efforts to move this great institution forward During his time as Chancellor, he contributed a great deal in helping us resolve the challenges the University went through These challenges included financial and social problems Although there remain difficulties we can confidently say he has left the University much stronger than it was four years ago He has pledged his continued support to us and we will continue to look to his resourcefulness to help us We are very grateful to him Brief Statistics Mr Chancellor Sir, during this week, we are going to graduate over 5584 students in various disciplines using a new graduation format known as graduation week Under this decentralised arrangement, students who have successfully completed their studies will graduate on different days according to their faculties Of the total number of graduands, the male graduands are 2864 constituting 51.3%, while the females number 2720 constituting 48.7% For this 58th Graduation a total of 46 Graduands obtained First Class Honours Degree, • in Sciences (2 Females, Males) • 40 in Humanities (22 Females, 18 Males) Thus 52% of the first class graduands are Female and (48% Male) Mr Chancellor Sir, for the undergraduate programmes for this group of students, the best student in the sciences is Mr Paul Ssekagya who graduated in September 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science having scored a CGPA of 4.88 out of The best student in the Humanities is Miss Annet Nakawooya who will is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama I warmly congratulate all students who have excelled by attaining first class and upper second-class degrees I encourage them to progress further in their academics so as to gain new skills and be more competitive globally I also congratulate all other graduands and wish them the best as they go out into the world Allow me recognise and congratulate members of staff who are graduating today, and those that have recently completed their study programmes in other institutions around the world I would also like to congratulate members of staff whose children are graduating today Mr Chancellor, Sir, all those graduating with PhD degrees and many of those graduating with Masters are members of staff In addition to these we have had twenty-two (22) members of staff graduating with PhDs from other universities abroad; nine (9) (40.9%) of these are female in the last six (6) months Mr Chancellor Sir, as you may note we are building human resource capacity and competence for the present and the future of this great institution OBITUARY LIST (October 2007 to date) On a sad note, I would like to report that the University has lost some members of staff since the last graduation ceremony The most recent of these are: Mr Raymond Alex Agara-Oyo, Senior Staff Development Officer in the Directorate of Human Resources worked with us from 1994 until his death on 13th October 2007 Dr Imelda Nalukenge, Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness worked with us from 1995 until her death on 30th December 2007 Mr Kannamwanje, Driver in the Dean of Students Office who passed away on Thursday 24th January 2008 They greatly contributed to building for the future The University will miss them immensely and we can meaningfully repay them for their services by holding dear their initiatives and uphold the strong values they stood for We thank God for their lives and may their souls rest in eternal peace In the same vein, we mourn the departed spouses of our colleagues On a sad note, Mr Chancellor, Sir, I am informing the Congregation that: Dr J.B Nyakaana, Associate Professor, Department of Geography lost his wife on 10 January 2008 Mr Denis Asiimwe, Assistant Lecturer, Human Rights & Peace Centre, Faculty of Law, lost his wife on 12th January 2008 We pray to the Almighty to give our colleagues solace as they mourn their departed wives INITIATIVES, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Strategic Plan: The University has undertaken the development of a ten-year strategic plan under the theme ‘Repositioning Makerere to Meet Emerging Challenges’ The plan to be implemented this year with a revised Vision and Mission will go a long in enhancing the University’s ability to provide effective and quality service and strengthen its position globally We recognize that as a training institution, we have to constantly re-evaluate ourselves to make sure that we remain relevant to our environment and produce knowledge and graduates that answer to the national development goals Towards a College-based University: Makerere University is in advanced stages of implementing its plan to transform from a Faculty-based to a constituent College-based University The process of establishing the College of Health Sciences, which has been approved by the National Council for Higher Education, has started This new college will bring together the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Public Health The 5TH FASU All Africa University Games: I have the pleasure to re-affirm to you that Uganda will be hosting the 5th FASU All Africa University Games at Makerere University from the 6th to 16th July 2008 It is a national competition where all universities in Uganda will unite to form a national team to compete with the teams from other African countries The following countries have confirmed participation; Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda We expect more countries to confirm participation by mid-February I request you to join me to appreciate the financial and material support towards the games from the following partners; • The Makerere University Council has committed Ug.Shs.300million/= • The Ministry of Education and Sports has committed Ug.Shs300million/= • The Inter University Council of East Africa has committed US $ 5000 • The Federation of University Sports China has donated sports equipment worth Ug.Shs.20million I wish to inform you that the Local Organising Committee needs Ug.Shs.6 billion to host the continental games Makerere University needs resources to upgrade its sports facilities and infrastructure to match international standards I therefore appeal to the Government of Uganda, Ministry of Education and Sports, fellow Vice Chancellors, alumni, staff, students, the business community and the sports fraternity to support Makerere in preparation for the games I am happy to report that Makerere University emerged overall champions out of thirteen (13) Universities during the recently concluded National Inter-University Games held at the Uganda Christian University, Mukono The School of Public Health: The School of Public Health has received USD 2.5 million from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States for the next five years for HIV fellowships in the School, treatment and care Faculty of computing and Information Technology The selection exercise for 30 PhD Scholarships Under The NPT Project on “Strengthening ICT Training and Research Capacity in Four Public Universities In Uganda” started in July 2007 (27th – 29th) with interviews to all shortlisted applicants from the Four Public Universities: Makerere, Mbarara, Kyambogo and Gulu The exercise was done by the Academic Advisory Board chaired by Prof John Nerbonne, the Overall Academic Supervisor of the Project for the three Institutions in the Netherlands Step two was a research visit of two months for the selected candidates During the research visit candidates were put in research groups from which 10 candidates (5 from Makerere) were selected to study at Institutions in the Netherlands and the remaining 20 (13 from Makerere) are to pursue their PhD studies at Makerere University with regular research visits to their respective Universities of study in the Netherlands I congratulate the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology and students who won the scholarships Faculty of Technology: Students from the Faculty of technology are participating in a project to develop and produce the world’s cheapest car through partnership with students from Germany It is envisaged that it will be an electric car and the students of Makerere are to develop the electrical system Makerere was the only African University to have been selected to participate in the project Food Science and Technology: The Department is involved in the production of high quality fruit juices, Omulondo (a wild root liqueur) and cholesterol-free smoked meat whose benefits are substantial These are all projects aimed at 10 developing local products using local raw materials It is also part of the University’s efforts to develop knowledge and products that are relevant to local needs Molecular Laboratories: The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources have fully equipped molecular laboratories that are, for example, able to carry out DNA tests Faculty of Arts: The Department of Mass Communication is reviewing the curricula of all programmes to make them relevant to current trends in society It is currently undertaking a review of the Regional Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Journalism and Communication, which is supported by Sida The training programme covers five countries namely Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi The Department of philosophy has successfully launched a summer school with the University of Zurich (Center for Applied Ethics) focusing on World poverty and Human Rights In addition, the Department is also in collaboration with Abo Akademmi of Finland in the philosophy of Human Rights and the project shall support one Doctoral student The Department of Philosophy has developed new courses namely Bachelors in Ethics and Public Management; and Masters in Applied Ethics The two programmes are aimed at strengthening ethics in corporate management The Department of Religious Studies in conjunction with the School of Missions and Theology Stavanger-Norway were awarded a four year NUFU project entitled, “The Re-integration of female ex-child 11 soldiers in East Africa.” Under this project, NUFU will fund three doctoral students and two Masters’ students The Institute of Languages is set to expand the number of Languages taught at the University The new languages include;lusoga-lugwerilukenyi, lumasaba-lusamia-lunyoli, ateso-karimojong and lugbaratimadi The Department of Geography is expanding its links with NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) for training and research programmes in climate change The members of staff in the Department will visit the above facility in Boulder Colorado State next week Faculty of Social Sciences: Under the staff development programme, 21 members of staff are undertaking their doctoral studies in various universities all over the world; these are expected to complete by 2009 This will significantly boost the staff-students ratio in teaching and research Review of the curriculum for the Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) and Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration was completed and has been operationalised this academic year 2007/2008 In addition, the Faculty is in the process of reviewing the curricula for the Master’s programme in partnership with stakeholders On the research front, the Faculty has uniquely positioned itself in bio-social research with major emphasis on HIV/AIDS and other emergent diseases A research inventory of social sciences research in Uganda is due to be uploaded on the Faculty Website The Faculty plans to construct a new building to increase space for teaching and learning and has so far saved Ug.Shs.200million We therefore appeal to the Government, our alumni and development partners to join us in the efforts that are being made to mobilize resources for the building 12 School of Education: A total of thirteen (13) members of staff are pursuing PhDs in the different courses of study at Makerere University, University of Dar es Salaam and other institutions in different parts of the world Improvement of School Practice The School of Education conducts Te aching Practice where students are equipped with relevant teaching skills In order to improve the Teaching Practice, we introduced school-based supervisors known as Cooperating Teachers, who guide students on a daily basis This has resulted into efficient and effective supervision of student teachers We thank Innovations@Makerere.Committee for funding the project and appeal to the University to support the project for sustainability Equipping Lecturers with Pedagogy Skills A policy was passed that requires academic staff to be equipped with pedagogy skills Under this, the School of Education conducts pedagogy courses for lecturers from other Faculties Over 370 members of staff have been trained and equipped with pedagogy skills, which has resulted into improved delivery of their teaching services Promoting the Policy of using Mother Tongues The School of Education has actively participated in promoting the policy of using mother tongues as the medium of instruction and thematic curriculum We have developed the instructional materials for lower primary, written in local languages, following the thematic curriculum We are actively involved in training of primary schools in methods of teaching mother tongues DOSATE 13 The Department of Science and Technical Education is in the process of restructuring its science education programmes to respond functionally to the demands of curricula in the School and College System Research Grants The School of Education jointly with Open University in Britain won the British Council Research Grant amounting to £92,000 from May 2007 to May 2008 titled “E-Learning and Teacher Education.” Research projects We have continued to conduct research to generate new knowledge The research projects include; • Strategies to enhance girl-child retention and performance sponsored by the Norwegian Government (NORAD) • Classroom interactions in the teaching of Mathematics, Science and Technical Education, sponsored by the Makerere University School of Graduate Studies • Constructivists and Active Science, Teaching and Learning, sponsored by Rockefeller Foundation • ICT in Science Education sponsored by United States of America • Capacity building for teachers in post-conflict areas: The case for northern Uganda, sponsored by DFID through the British Council • Exploring the factors affecting staff research output and completion rates of graduate students at Makerere University funded by the School of Graduate Studies • Formative evaluation of UPHOLD education programme sponsored by USAID • Integrating HIV/AIDS into the secondary school curriculum funded by Uganda Aids Commission and sanctioned by the Ministry of Education and Sports • A baseline study for the financing of Uganda private sector funded by the International Finance Corporation, World Bank 14 • Higher education research network in Africa sponsored by Carnegie Corporation The collaborating Universities include University of New York, University of Western Cape, University of Oslo and Centre of Higher Education Transformation • African Higher Education Research Online sponsored by AHERO project in collaboration with the University of Western Cape • Education rehabilitation in northern Uganda, sponsored by IRC Infrastructure Development The School has been saving resources and is planning to embark on an expansion of the current infrastructure and related facilities We call upon alumni, development partners, and all stakeholders to join hands and support this noble cause Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR): Dr Stella Neema and Richard Kibombo’s research on Protecting the Next Generation (PNG) provided new evidence on the unmet sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents The evidence was used to drive policy and program change by ensuring that the information reaches a wide range of national and international policymakers, program managers, opinion leaders and advocacy organizations MISR Established collaboration with the IDRC/ILC to coordinate and award small Research Grants on ‘Securing Women’s access to Land: Linking Research and Action The program is ½ years The University Library: We are happy to report that the expansion of the University Library is set to continue The new extension, which was constructed using internally generated funds (money raised by Makerere independent of 15 government contribution), was recently handed over by the Arab Contractors We have also received approval from government to borrow money from a development bank to fund the next phase of expansion Let us note that the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act creates an enabling environment for public universities to borrow money for capital development The Makerere University main Library has also been selected for development as a model library in Africa The Carnegie Corporation is to extend support worth USD 1.0 million for this development Quality Assurance: Through a Quality Assurance project (supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York), a new staff evaluation instrument has been developed under the framework of the Quality Assurance Policy and has been implemented in the Faculties of Law and Science The instrument will be rolled out to all other faculties and administrative units as part of efforts to improve service delivery Makerere University Private Sector Forum: Through the partnership with the Private/Public sectors Makerere University actively participated in the Commonwealth Business Council activities during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) November 2007, through exhibitions and presentation of business-oriented papers I congratulate the Members of staff and students who were involved in the activities 16 Makerere University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Water and Sewerage Corporation on 11 th January 2008 We shall conduct joint research and training focusing on implementation of research agenda towards problem solving on water and sanitation in Uganda and Africa A regional Training Institute shall be established to offer courses affiliated to Makerere University International Collaborations a) Active Collaborations Involving Student And Staff Exchanges Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Aås, Oslo with Faculty of Forestry – send between 12 – 25 students to Makerere University every semester Karolinska Institutet, Sweden with the School of Public Health – send between 2- students every semester Summer School with Professors from universities in Sweden, Italy, Kenya conducting lectures in the Department of Mathematics University of Bergen, Norway – send between – students to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences every semester Also of our students from the Department of Music, Dance and Drama went to Bergen for Semester (4 Masters & Ph.D students) School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger – send between 15 -25 students for month to our Department of Religious Studies every Semester Stellenbosch University, SA – send visiting Professors, eg the Guest Conductor in Music who taught MA students of Music and also conducted Christmas Carols Have also sent a student to Makerere for a semester Recently, our first exchange student from Institute of Psychology went to Stellenbosch for a semester Waseda University, Japan – sending a student each academic year at Makerere 17 Syracuse University, USA – sent graduate students for a semester to the Faculty of Social Sciences Kangwon National University, South Korea sending a student for one academic year 10 Joint Ph.D degrees between University of Bergen and Makerere University – yet to be signed b) International Visitors In 2007 The Royal Norwegian Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Bjorge Leite Ford Foundation President, Ms Susan Berresford Commonwealth Business Council, Managing Director, Dr Clive Kinder Ambassador of Japan to Uganda, H.E Ryuzo Kikuchi Ambassador of Japan to Kenya, H.E Satovu Miyamura Ambassador of Serbia to Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, H.E Ivan Zivkov Vaal University of Technology, SA, University Director, Mr Robert Martin Director of Nippon Foundation Japan, Mr Shuichi Ohno Director, Sasakawa Africa Association, Japan, Mr Michio Ito 10 Public Affairs Officer, American Embassy, Ms Lisa Heilbronn 11 Vice Chancellor of University of Juba, Professor Sibrino Forojalla 12 Vice Chancellor of Kangwon National University, S.Korea, Prof Kim Won Duck 13 ODM Presidential Candidate of Kenya, Hon Raila Odinga c) Recent Signed Agreements with Universities/Institutions Abroad 18 Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria ( Renewed for five more years) Kangwon National University, South Korea University of Florida (Renewed for five more years) Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India and J.N Agriculture Technology International Ltd, Uganda through the Govt of India Syracuse University, USA University of Western Cape, SA POLICIES • Distance Education Policy: The Institute of Adult and Continuing Education is in the process of developing a policy for the Distance Education Mode of delivery of teaching This will make it possible for the University to provide education opportunities to a bigger number of Ugandans without putting strain on physical infrastructure and facilities on the main campus The Carnegie Corporation of New York is supporting the development of the policy • Communication and Marketing Policy: We are moving to strengthen the role of communication in the operations of the University We are planning to establish a fully-fledged Public Relations and Marketing Unit The process to develop a communication and marketing policy is already underway 19 OUTSTANDING MEMBERS OF STAFF AND STUDENTS Mr Chancellor, Sir, allow me to specially recognise and congratulate our members of staff and students who won a number of significant awards They include: Staff: Prof Emeritus Patrick Rubaihayo (Department of Crop Science) received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Helsinki, Finland Dr Bernard Bashaasha (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness) received an Alumni Award (Ohio State University) Dr J Muyonga received The Academy of Sciences for Developing World (TWAS) Young Scientist Award Prof Elly Sabiiti, appointed The Academy of Sciences for Developing World (TWAS) Research Professor Prof Venansuis Baryamureeba Dean FCIT won the African Top ICT Educator Award 2007 Ms Florence Tushabe (FCIT) currently on PhD studies in the Netherlands won the Best Student Paper Award at the International Conference on Signal Processing and Imaging Engineering 2007 Students: Mr Godfrey Korimako Atuhaire, a Wood Science and Technology graduate won Shs 50 million in the “show me the money” challenge organised by the Commonwealth Business Solutions, Ezra Track Team Board and The Daily Monitor His Project was to recycle paper 20 Steven Ntambi, Rashid Muyombi, Aggrey Kabunga and Florence Nakitto (Faculty of Technology) who are part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative to develop the world’s cheapest car SIGNIFICANT UPCOMING EVENTS The President of Germany, H.E Horst Koehler who is due to arrive in Uganda on the rd February on a state visit, will be visiting Makerere University on Monday, th February at 9:30a.m We expect the Vice Chancellor of Glasgow University and his team from the 6th -12th February The President of the Rockefeller Foundation will be visiting the University in the third week of February 2008 The Administrator General of the University of Bergen and her team will be with us for a week starting 29 February 2008 CHALLENGES The financial deficit the university has been facing in recent times remains a major challenge We continue to experience shortfalls in funding from government and the University has had to use its internally generated revenues to cover activities that would have otherwise been catered for through government subvention However, We continue to explore ways to resolve this issue, but it 21 is our sincere hope that the national policy on funding to the higher education sector as a matter of urgency APPRECIATION OF OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our development partners, namely: Sida/SAREC, DAAD, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of new York, the Norwegian Government, the European Union, Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension (SAFE), NUFU, AICAD, DFID, and USAID among others for their continued support towards infrastructure development, research and publications, and staff training, which has helped in strengthening the quality of our human resource CONCLUSION Mr Chancellor Sir, as I bid farewell to the graduands, I would like to remind them that when they entered the gates of Makerere they found abundant social freedom While here one could afford to abuse or even beat up others; and nothing would happen to him/her! Do not try this outside the gates of Makerere As you get out of the gates leave the freedom behind and re-orient yourselves to live in new environments This university has benefited a lot from the good performance of our alumni wherever they are or go in this world I am, therefore, appealing to the graduands, who will soon be graduates, to: 22 • Be good ambassadors of the University wherever you go, live and work in this global village • Be of service to the people and community, help and support your parents/guardians and siblings • Have a positive attitude towards work and establish a harmonious relationship with your employers and colleagues • Actively participate in the activities of your alma mater • Remember to take good care of yourselves - the country needs you alive • Shun all evil doing, taking bribes, forgery, etc • Entrust yourself wholly to your God the Almighty and let him take charge of your life I wish you all the best as you face the world outside the Makerere University gates I thank you as We Build for the Future, God Bless You as you celebrate your successes 23 ... 6th -12th February The President of the Rockefeller Foundation will be visiting the University in the third week of February 2008 The Administrator General of the University of Bergen and her... delivery of their teaching services Promoting the Policy of using Mother Tongues The School of Education has actively participated in promoting the policy of using mother tongues as the medium of instruction... members of staff are pursuing PhDs in the different courses of study at Makerere University, University of Dar es Salaam and other institutions in different parts of the world Improvement of School