Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has applauded the Japanese government, for its continued support to strengthening Uganda’s border management systems through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Rugunda was on Monday, April 10, speaking at the launch of an Immigration Training Academy in Nakasongola constructed by IOM for the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) as part of the $1.8m Japan-funded Strengthening Border Security in Uganda project.
“The establishment of the academy is a timely addition to government efforts to combat transnational crimes which include terrorism, human trafficking, irregular and illegal migration, among others,” Rugunda said.
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda addressing the media in Nakasongola after launching the Immigration Training Institute
According to Ali Abdi, the chief of mission at IOM Uganda, this basic, military-style facility will enable immigration officers to acquire comprehensive and continuous training to ensure that they can carry out their duties in accordance with international standards.
“Among the tasks that Ugandan immigration officials are expected to do in this day and age is to electronically register travellers, inspect state-of-the-art travel documents, identify fraudulent passports; impose visa requirements, carry out border patrols in rough terrain, and detect a possible victim of trafficking, etc… We are confident that this academy will help [them] achieve this goal,” Abdi said.
The training hall has been equipped with Migration, Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) – a user-friendly and cost-effective border management information system developed by IOM, which allows countries to electronically register travellers.
“With MIDAS, countries can effectively monitor those entering and exiting their territories, while providing a sound statistical basis for migration policy-related planning,” Abdi said.
Currently, the academy, a brainchild of former internal affairs minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima (RIP), can accommodate 50 people, but there are plans to expand it to host up to 300 people.
The Japanese ambassador to Uganda, Kazuaki Kameda, said the academy was one of the many measures needed to strengthen border security.
“The security threat seems to be continuously on the rise globally, and our fights to secure our countries must continue… Those new equipment and facilities have to be maintained to be functional for years to come, as a secure country is not built in one day,” Kazuaki said.
Other dignitaries present included Rosa Malango, the UN resident coordinator in Uganda; the state minister for internal affairs, Mario Obiga Kania; and the permanent secretary for internal affairs, Dr Benon Mutambi.
Over the last eight weeks, the education sector has been discussing school lunch, among other things. The education ministry has already expressed itself on the matter. But as FRANK KISAKYE found, this hasn't stopped discussion on the matter.
Ever wondered why with all the talent that Africa has, it has never gone beyond the quarterfinals of the World Cup?
The answer, according to the commissioner for Children Affairs, Mondo Kyateeka, lies in nutrition offered to children under the Early Childhood Development (ECD). Kyateeka, whose mandate is in the ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development, believes that during the first five years of a child’s life, 90 per cent of their brain develops.
“The first 1,000 days of a child are extremely important”, says Kyateeka. “The families in which we grow up are not the same. Many parents are now [too busy] for their children.”
He is convinced that the early environment and relationships are important to the development of a child’s character and intelligence.
“If you are not ready to parent, please don’t execute [the activity that leads to children] … people are not loving anymore. We need to be ashamed and reposition ourselves to do better,” he said.
The concerns were expressed at a meeting of local leaders in Kabale last month. The meeting was called as part of the regional activation event of National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy of Uganda (NIECD).
School children have a meal at school. Nutrition in schools remains a challenge
NO MONEY, NO PROBLEM
Like many government-backed projects, local leaders were not expected to hear that this one did not have a lot of finances.
“This is not a programme that is going to have a lot of finances, but is integrating ECDs at all UPE schools. You have the leverage to come up with by-laws in your respective areas,” Kyateeka said.
The meeting was developed on the back of a Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) report from 2011, which showed that 42 per cent of children in Kabale were living with stunted growth. Consequently, a nutrition programme has been developed in Muko sub-county (soon to be Rubanda district), according to Immaculate Mandela, the acting district health officer.
Mandela says the problem in the area was not lack of food, but ignorance on how to prepare the food to offer maximum nutritional value to the children and their parents.
Mandela hopes that village nutrition committees will teach parents how to prepare meals with groundnuts, mukene (silver cyprinid) and posho as a single dish, among other varieties.
Minced meat, groundnuts and Irish potatoes is another option, also cooked as a single dish. Meat can also be cooked with groundnuts and rice together.
“The men don’t want to come for these [cooking] trainings, Mandela says. Indeed, during the demonstration at Kabale playground, only one man, a pastor at Kaato Church of Uganda, Dickson Amushabe, turned up.
“I’m going to pass on this information to my folk. I have seen how the children have liked the porridge that was prepared by these [district] people. The children were all asking for more [food], which means [these people] know how to prepare food for children,” Amushabe added.
HURDLES
However, the integration of nutrition into ECD in schools faces a structural hurdle. The coordinating ministry (education) is yet to get involved with the programme.
Officially, primary education starts at primary level and government schools do not offer nursery education. So 98 per cent of all early learning centres (nursery schools) in the country are under the private sector.
Consequently, early childhood education still remains just an option for parents with means, especially in urban areas. The Kabale meeting called for the harmonisation of policy and strategies at all levels of government and private sector from national to community levels.
Only recently, education minister Janet Museveni has insisted that the state will not succumb to calls for government to feed children in schools. She argued that the state was reserving its funds for other programmes, such as improving infrastructure.
Instead, the minister has left the door open for parents to liaise with school administrations to work out viable measures, agreeable to both parties. For instance in Kamuli, parents have agreed to contribute dry rations to be prepared at school for their children. Kyateeka says other local governments can embrace this model.
Some 152 lawyers, who failed final and later supplementary (retake) exams, have only four months to express interest in resuming their studies at Law Development Centre (LDC).
According to results released by the LDC examinations board last week, all the affected lawyers are postgraduate bar course students from the 2015/16 academic year. Out of the 677 lawyers that will participate in the 44th graduation on April 21 from various courses, at least 215 lawyers qualified for the award of a diploma in legal practice.
In an interview, Everest Turyahikayo, the LDC academic registrar, said students who will have expressed interest are supposed to repeat all the subjects they failed for the entire 11-month academic year.
“The students will also be required to pay some fees in accordance [with] how the subjects are grouped,” Turyahikayo said.
LDC academic registrar Everest Turyahikayo
For instance, students repeating subjects under group A like Criminal Proceedings, Corporate and Commercial Practice, Family Law Practice, Civil Litigation, and Land Transactions will pay Shs 1m per subject for the entire academic year.
Group B subjects that include Tax Practice and Trial Advocacy and group C and D elective subjects that comprise, among others, Corporate Governance and International Commercial Transactions – all attract a fee of Shs 500,000 per subject.
In addition, each student repeating a subject(s) pays application fees of Shs 50,000 and Shs 20,000 as alumni fees. Once a student, among the 152 lawyers, studies and passes the entire academic year, they will later be prepared to graduate.
“But if one fails, they have one last chance to repeat the subjects and pay the fees all over again per subject. If you sit and fail again, you are now discontinued and may apply to repeat the entire course,” Turyahikayo said.
At this level, the student applies to the law council to be subjected to pre-entry exams and come back to LDC as a fresh student once they pass. According to a graduands’ lists pinned on the LDC notice board and signed by Turyahikayo, any of the 152 students who is dissatisfied with the board’s decision may appeal to the Appeals Committee as provided for under rule 30 (1) of the rules governing passing the bar course.
“Such appeals shall be addressed to the secretary of the appeals committee by April 25, 2017 at 5pm. The appeals should be submitted with proof of payment of a prescribed fee,” reads the notice.
The appeals committee is scheduled to meet on April, 13, 2017 to hear appeals already submitted.
Last year, about 100 students in the 2014/15 academic year, who failed supplementary exams, petitioned LDC to allow them repeat some subjects. The management committee granted those wishes and they are preparing to sit fresh exams.
Two Makerere University-based Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) research analysts have asked government to rethink being the only funder of the Universal Primary Education programme (UPE) through capitation grants.
In a February policy brief titled Reviving the grappling education sector: What can be done? Musa Muyanja Lwanga and Anita Ntale argue that the current arrangement is not economically viable.
According to Lwanga and Ntale, the country has other competing priorities like infrastructure development, health and agriculture investment, which leaves minimal funds to support UPE.
“A cost-sharing model in which both parents and the government contribute to the funding of primary school education will reduce the funding constraint,” the research analysts said.
Government increased the capitation grant unit cost per pupil per year from Shs 7,560 to Shs 10,000, last year. EPRC is an autonomous not-for-profit organisation established in 1993 with a mission to foster sustainable growth development in Uganda through advancement of research-based knowledge and policy analysis.
Speaking to The Observer on April 5, Ntale said the title of their policy brief was premised on reports about the declining completion rates, among other concerns in the primary subsector.
“The figures are too high compared to other countries in the region," Ntale said, adding that if the government addresses the issues they have raised, the situation could improve.
Anita Ntale (L) and Musa Muwanga
Established in 1997, UPE has been credited for increasing primary education access to underprivileged families, but it has also come under attack for increasing the number of school dropouts, inadequate infrastructure, and "ghost" learners, among others.
The EPRC analysts believe that with parents contributing to UPE (through a fee such as Parents Teachers’ Association fee), teachers would be paid a decent salary, while more classrooms and other infrastructure can be built to improve on school outcomes.
Yet, according to the Education Act 2008, “No person or agency shall levy or order another person to levy any charge for purposes of education in any primary or postprimary institution [implementing] UPE or UPPET programme.”
So, if government is to adopt the researchers’ proposal, it will have to review sections of the Education Act.
SCHOOL DROPOUTS
Despite registering some achievements in UPE, EPRC researchers say the growing number of dropouts and the low primary school completion rates continue to hamper the success of free education.
According to the 2016 world development indicators quoted in the policy brief, in 2002, Uganda attained its highest primary school completion rate of 63 per cent, after which the numbers started falling.
“These falling completion rates pose serious development challenges and are likely to impede Uganda from attaining structural transformation,” reads the policy brief.
“The trends have concerning implications not only on the quality of Uganda’s current and future labour force but also on her competitiveness in the region.” For instance, a comparison with Uganda’s neighbours Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda shows that since 2001, these EAC countries have been improving in primary school completion rates, while Uganda has been deteriorating.
The researchers say the factors responsible for the observed trends in completion rates in Uganda are not limited to insufficient funding, high levels of teacher absenteeism, but included lack of infrastructure like classrooms and textbooks, poor sanitation and inadequate inspection of schools.
Whereas UPE champions rightly argue that the scheme has opened education to thousands of children, research analysts found that the quality of the learners leaves a lot to be desired.
“If the current trends continue, the Ugandan labour force will primarily be composed of poorly and partly educated persons, and the effects of this are slowly starting to show within the education sector itself,” reads the EPRC policy brief.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
While there is agreement in the sector that there are so many leaks to be plugged, the researchers have their own advice to government.
“Firstly, from a human capital perspective, quality cannot continue to come second to quantity,” says the policy recommendations.
In a bid to improve completion rates, researchers say government should produce a number of policy interventions, some of which have indeed undermined the quality of education.
For example, in 2005 the education ministry is quoted as having compelled schools to promote pupils irrespective of their performance.
“[But] as we struggle to maintain attendance and strive to improve completion rates, it’s even more important that quality and attainment improve. Thus, this calls for a policy reversal to ensure that only pupils with a passing mark are promoted, and those who have not obtained the minimum requirements receive the necessary assistance to do so in the next year/term,” say the research analysts.
The EPRC analysts also call for increased and improved supervision and inspection of schools, which will go a long way in curbing teacher absenteeism, increased teacher and pupil interaction and thus, improving learning outcomes.
Parents and education experts have been listening to the debate on the curriculum review with a mixture of interest and despair, especially since they are not involved in the discussion.
However, last week, the education NGO Twaweza invited experts to a discussion on the future of learning. MOSES TALEMWA attended and reports.
In little hamlets across the country, many parents have wondered how their children can access better-quality learning at the most affordable cost. Many have listened to perennial debates by politicians about how access to learning has been increased by government since 1997, but little on how to improve quality.
This, and the annual reports by Uwezo, an arm of Twaweza Africa, have increased despair among parents and teachers about whether learning institutions are able to teach children to meet the challenges of the future.
This led to a one-day conference, organised by Twaweza, and Kyambogo and Makerere universities, last week. Hosted by Kyambogo University, the meeting saw nearly 100 academics from around the world discussing the learning situation in Uganda.
In setting the stage for the debate, Dr Mary Goretti Nakabugo, the manager of Uwezo Uganda and the Twaweza country lead, explained the learning crisis in the country.
“Over six years, Uwezo assessments have consistently shown that children are not learning as they should in school,” Dr Nakabugo said. “Bringing together all these great minds …. [will help us] propose feasible solutions in a critical first step in our journey towards a Uganda in which all children receive their basic right to quality education.”
Students in a smart classroom. Experts are concerned that schools are not preparing students well for the future
The dean of the faculty of education at Kyambogo University, Dr Joyce Ayikoru, called for critical review of how children learn.
“This is the first conference that brings together key education actors to deliberate on ways to rethink our education system so that quality is measured by achievement levels in learning outcomes,” she said.
The conference was called to find ways of reviewing the Universal Primary Education to improve learning, following an improvement in accessing learning. The meeting looked at the role of parents, the importance of strong school leadership, learning conditions/environment and teacher motivation.
Consequently, education experts called for increased emphasis on social learning rather than exceling in academics. The experts called for schools to integrate social and emotional competencies in their teaching and assessment to end traditional academic outcomes. They also discussed whether academic and emotional teaching can reinforce each other and create synergies.
Participants at the conference attributed the current failures to a number of educational challenges including poor governance, deep lack of accountability, under-resourced environments, unmotivated teachers, and gender norms.
MISMATCH
The participants complained that educationists (including parents) tend to over-prioritise selected learning outcomes, especially exams, rather than a more holistic consideration of the purpose and impact of schooling.
Prof Carmel Cefai, the director of the Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health at the University of Malta, asked whether teachers were concerned about the development of learning in the country.
“As we strive to improve children’s education in preparation for the global economic challenges, we are becoming more aware that quality education cannot be restricted to just academic performance,” he said. “Children and young people need to develop the requisite social and emotional competences which help them to navigate successfully through the developmental tasks, situational challenges, and transitions they are set to face in their pathway towards adulthood.”
Prof Cefai added that both "the head and heart" were necessary for a balanced education and both aspects complement and support each other, rather than being in conflict with one another.
FUTURE OF LEARNING
Aidan Eyakuze, the executive director of Twaweza East Africa, agreed with Prof Cefai.
“My argument is that learning is a means to the ultimate objective of job acquisition by the learner. I take a forward-looking approach to look at the future of work and how it might be organized and valued, and the work of the future."
Eyakuze argued that curriculum experts need to look at professions of the future.
“Many would argue that the purpose of education is work. But academic qualifications and job skills are often mismatched,” Eyakuze said. “With all the technological advances, critical-thinking and problem-solving become even more essential. People whose jobs are made up primarily of ‘structured’ tasks are at greater risk of being replaced by automation.”
He argued that it was unclear whether education systems generally, and particularly in Uganda, can keep pace. Dr John Reginald Allen, a curriculum expert from Australia, weighed in on the problem, arguing that there was a need to look at the impact of schooling on learners.
“The outcomes – the impacts of going to school on students’ lives, skills, attitudes and futures – are given at best scant attention,” he said. Many accountability schemes, designed by professionals as a way to drive real change, are affected by a [tendency to check] what is most easily assessed rather than by what it is most important to know.”
Dr Allen called for parents to be involved in professional discussions on learning.
“Parents are too often positioned as mere consumers, best informed by tables of outputs and, maybe, inputs in terms of resources. Citizens – parents and the broader community – have, in my view, a central role in setting and prioritising the outcomes schooling.”
CLARITY ON THE FUTURE
In his concluding remarks, Eyakuze called for a review on what is likely to be achieved in the future learning environment.
“For what future are Uganda’s children being prepared? Which type of learning will be instrumental to their survival or success? And how do we know if we are delivering the appropriate kind of learning if we don’t focus on learning outcomes as the vital measure of the efficacy of the education ecosystem?”
He called for clarity on the distinction between what is and what ought to be; between practice and theory; descriptions of current realities, especially the complex realities that really matter, rather than seeing the whole debate as an unfair criticism or misplaced rebuke of practitioners or leaders.
Prof Cefai also added that, “our children need an adequate, meaningful and relevant education for the realities of the twenty-first century”.
Finally, Dr Nakabugo expressed the hope that the discussions would be taken up by the education sector for further consideration in improving learning outcomes in the country.
The department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University is in the final stages of splitting its lone degree programme into two.
The current four-year bachelor of Journalism and Communication degree will be split into Bachelor of Journalism and Multimedia Studies and Bachelor of Public Relations and Strategic Communication, with each having an accompanying master’s programme.
On Friday, April 7, a group of scholars, senior media personalities and public relations managers met at the university for a validation workshop where they gave their views on the proposed curriculum. While opening the workshop, Dr William Tayeebwa said it has been long since they reviewed the programme.
“For 20 years, we have been running one programme, although in 2004 we started the master’s programme. The industry has continued to grow so much that it became incumbent upon us to revise the programme to respond to the needs of the industry,” he said.
Tayeebwa added that even the National Council for Higher Education demands that universities review their curricular on a regular basis so as to suit the changing dynamics. Tayeebwa added that the department of Mass Communication, as it was then called, has grown so much that it needs to become a school.
“We can’t become a school without programmes. Everyone is excited that we are segregating these important disciplines as stand-alone programmes,” he said.
Tayeebwa revealed that they have the capacity to run the programmes as more than half of their staff are about to complete their PhD degrees.
Prof Edward Kirumira, the principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, who represented vice chancellor Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu, thanked media practitioners and public relations mangers for accepting to be part of the team that is reviewing the curriculum.
“The best person to speak about what you want is somebody who is not you; that makes a much more powerful justification than you,” he said. Kirumira however, disagreed with Dr Tayeebwa’s suggestion that the change in curriculum should be motivated by the desire to respond to the industry’s demands.
“It should be an engagement-conversation-rather than responding to the needs of the industry. The industry should see this as a partnership rather than a response to their needs because when we go that way, we will be accused of [trailing] the marketplace,” he said.
Kirumira added that the new curriculum should also provide for guest lecturers who are practitioners, rather than leaving it to the discretion of individual lecturers to invite guests.
“Since they are coming from the industry, they will not ask for money. What they are looking at is that they have appointments as guest lecturers at Makerere University; surely they are going to use that to get money from elsewhere,” he said.
Kirumira, who is eyeing the post of vice chancellor when the tenure of the current holder, Ddumba-Ssentamu, runs out in August, also advised the department to allow students choose which languages they want to study at the university. In the proposed curriculum, French, Luganda and Runyakitara are some of the languages that students will choose from.
“I would rather that you have European and African languages so that students choose whatever language they want because these languages are already offered elsewhere in the university,” Kirumira said.
He also urged the department to utilize more of the local case studies in its references because students can easily identify with them. Some of the media personalities and public relations mangers who attended were James Tumusiime, managing director of The Observer newspaper; Francis Kagolo, an editor at New Vision; and Dennis Jjuuko.
Others included George William Lugalambi, the former head of mass communication department at Makerere; Helen Kaweesa, Senior Public Relations manager, parliament of Uganda; Christine Alupo, the Bank of Uganda communication manager, and former BBS journalist Kasim Kayiira.
NEW MULTIMEDIA LAB
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) has donated a multimedia computer lab worth $69,000 (Shs 245 million) to the department of Journalism and Communication.
The state-of-the-art lab has 32 computers, 10 Canon still cameras, 10 audio recorders, 10 video recorders, DVD players, Epson projectors and projection screen, laptops and TV screens, among others.
Speaking at the launch of the lab, Tayeebwa thanked the Norwegian government for the gesture and assured them that the lab will be used to improve the crop of journalists that the university produces.
Jeane de Silva, who represented NORAD, said her government will continue to offer such support through the Norwegian programme for Capacity Building in Higher Education and Research for Development project.
“Higher education is a priority for the government of Norway and we consider Makerere University as a partner and our collaboration is based on friendship,” Silva said. “It’s important to have up-to-date equipment and we will continue to give support to Makerere,”
Nakawa Vocational Training Institute will start offering diploma programmes from September this year.
This is according to institute principal, Godfrey Muwonge, who explained that the institution was responding to the demands of the job market. He added that students also wanted to upgrade their qualifications so they could earn more.
“The Japanese government has given us a hand [in] upgrading our college … our students are in high demand on the job market … so, we had to redesign to [accommodate] the diploma,” Muwonge said.
Graduands line up infront of guests after receiving their certificates
He revealed this on April 7, as the institution graduated 1,780 students, awarding them certificates in various fields. Speaking after Muwonge, the state minister for Primary Education, Rosemary Sseninde charged the youth with improving their skills to end unemployment in the economy.
She was concerned that many were not acquiring the appropriate skills to meet requirements.
“Nakawa Vocational Institute is one of the institutes paving the way for the youth ... this marks the beginning of a practical phase in a long mission to your world of professionalism, your graduation today means that one phase of the mission has been successfully accomplished,” she said.
State minister Rosemary Sseninde (C) arrives at Nakawa Vocational Institute
“Next, you need to align your future plans with your personal needs and those of your communities … and all this has to be done with the correct attitude.”
She encouraged the graduands not to look at the end of their courses as the end of professional career development.
Last week, the ministry of Education and Sports presented its final ministerial statement to parliament, which highlights some of the strategies to be reached in the coming fiscal year. MOSES TALEMWA has been looking at the statement and finds that the sector will continue work towards more infrastructure growth.
A year from now, Anna Kanyesigye will be in senior one. For now, she is looking at how to get through her primary school in Bundikahungu village in Bundibugyo district. And she is not the only one working to make progress.
Education minister Janet Museveni last week presented a ministerial statement for debate by Parliament, which indicates that more government primary schools like the one Kanyesigye goes to, will see some improvement in the 2017/18 budget.
If approved by the House, the budget will see the rehabilitation of 85 primary schools in deplorable state under Global Partnership Education and continuation with procurement of instructional materials.
The ministry also plans to vigorously undertake community engagements on key policy issues like school feeding and governance in primary schools through training and sensitization of school management committees.
Already, the primary subsector received Shs 2,447.66bn in the budget, of which Shs 1,378.66bn (56.3%) is for wages; Shs 482.19bn (19.7%) for non-wage; Shs 153.27bn (7.8%) for domestic development (all this from the local resource envelope) and Shs 396.92bn (16.2%) from donors.
Education minister Janet Museveni
In her presentation, the minister indicated that the subsector had seen increased monitoring of Early Childhood Development Centres (nursery schools) and primary schools to assess compliance with the set basic requirements and minimum standards.
There was also some support to primary teacher recruitment in local governments through procurement of instructional materials (textbooks) for P1 and P2 to primary schools, in an effort to improve the pupil-to-book ratio (PBR) to 5:1. A further Shs 800m was disbursed to the Teachers’ Sacco by the end of December 2016.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
This subsector will also see some construction, starting with the building of secondary schools in sub-counties without any. This will be taken from the limited seed capital under a transitional development grant for decentralized secondary development, to be provided in the next budget.
The subsector has suffered from a shortage of science teachers, and recruitment should start before the end of this year. There will also be some funding towards support supervision and monitoring of the Universal Secondary Education (USE) and non-USE schools.
Currently, the subsector has had to make do with a budget of Shs 15.904bn,which has been used to monitor 621 secondary schools; train 3,283 science and mathematics teachers under the SESEMAT programme; and induct newly appointed members of board of governors, newly promoted head teachers and newly promoted deputy head teachers, among others.
The sector also completed construction of classrooms and toilets at several schools across the country.
HIGHER EDUCATION
This subsector will see the Higher Education Students’ Financing Board (HESFB) supporting an additional 4,400 beneficiaries and the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of facilities in six public institutions under Higher Education Science and Technology (HEST) project.
There are plans for the construction of a classroom and hostel block at Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba, as the subsector works to support the Oil and Gas sector.
There are plans for a taskforce under Gulu University to plan the establishment of an agricultural college in Karamoja; carry out an academic audit; conduct research seminars and training; make publications; prepare and present research proposals for approval and funding; procure vehicles and equipment; and start new academic programmes in three new universities (Lira, Kabale and Soroti).
Presently, the subsector has been operating on an approved budget of Shs 157.07bn. With these funds, the sub-sector was able to: facilitate 3,799 students (2,725 male and 1,074 female) under the Higher Education Students' Financing Board (HESFB); continue with construction works of seven institutions; pay top-up allowances to 316 students studying abroad; and fund 130 PhD and 21 master's degree students, among others.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This is a huge and growing subsector embracing both formal and non-formal training in skills development, targeted at post O-level training. This sector will continue to see a lot of infrastructure development, mostly funded by donors, but also by the state.
There will, for instance, be a scale-up of non-formal skills training; continued facilitation of examination bodies (UBTEB, UNMEB, UAHEB); development of 120 sets of UVQF (non-formal education) assessment materials; inspection and accreditation of assessment centres; conducting four regional labour market scans; continuous assessment of 22,000 student nurses and midwives and 9,560 candidates in 46 institutions for 24 academic programmes, among others.
Presently, the sub-sector has been working with an approved budget of Shs 216.307bn. It was able to: develop level 1-3, theory and practical performance test items for non-formal education; develop curriculum for diploma in Electrical and Automobile; and train 63 BTVET instructors in a number of fields including management skills under continuous professional development (39 instructors are being trained locally in Uganda while 24 instructors are being trained in Japan).
There has also been construction and rehabilitation of facilities at several BTVET institutions (UCC Aduku, UCC Bushenyi, UTC Kyema, UTC Elgon, UTC Kichwamba, Hoima School of Nursing, Tororo Cooperative College, St Kizito Technical Institute and Butabika School of Psychiatric Nursing).
The sector also commenced the construction of a boys dormitory and staff quarter at Lake Katwe Technical Institute; completed architectural designs and bills of quantities for John Kale Institute of Science and Technology (in Kisoro); and supervised and finalized development of five institutional development plans for Uganda Technical College Kyema in Masindi, Kasese Youth Polytechnic in Kasese, St Joseph Vocational Technical Institute in Fort Portal, St Simon Vocational Technical Institute and Millennium Business School.
SPORTS SUBSECTOR
This subsector will see emphasis on civil works at the National High Altitude Training Centre (NHATC) in Teryet, Bukwo district. The subsector will also finalize the designs for Akii Bua stadium in Lira and kick-start civil works and provide support to national teams; support 32 sports centres of excellence; and enhance teaching of physical education in schools.
The subsector has been operating under an approved budget of Shs 12.21bn. With these funds, it was able to: support the Secondary Schools National Swimming Ball Games II and International Athletics Associations Federation championships; Primary Schools National Ball Games and SNL championship as well as the Uganda Cranes during preparations for Afcon qualifiers.
CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
For students like Kanyesigye, this extensive construction should result in improved learning facilities in a year from now. However, there will be concerns for her younger sisters, who will hope for sanitary towels to make it into the 2018/2019 budget.
The sector will also hope to support some gender, environment and HIV/Aids prevention programmes. These will include programmes on sanitation and hygiene management practices, care guidance and counseling services as well as promote environment protection and conservation in schools.
If approved, the next budget will only see a marginal increment of Shs 26.58bn to Shs 2,474.24bn against the current allocation of Shs 2,447.66bn.
Out of this, Shs 1,455.86bn is budgeted for wage (58.8%); Shs 476.16bn (19.2%) for non-wage; Shs 153.27bn (6.2%) is government contribution and Shs 388.96bn (15.7%) is external financing.
The allocation represents a share of 11.25% of the overall resource envelope of Shs 21,993.16bn, which constitutes a decline of 0.73 percentage points from the sector budget share of 11.98% for FY 2016/17.
Budget experts say it is too early to look at the budget allocation. However, some like James Tweheyo of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu) say the present allocation represents a continued investment in the future, with actual increments in salaries and causative factors for improvement of learning outcomes expected to come in future budgets.
”We are waiting to see how the parliament decides, however, we expect emphasis to be on improved infrastructure for the time being,” he said.
Last week, a forum of secondary teachers was thrown into disarray when a political leader in Kawempe accused schools of killing the country’s reading culture.
According to this local government official, schools are responsible for training everyone on how to read and write. Thus, he found it ironic that many school graduates are reluctant to return to reading as a way of life.
The concern is a well-worn one, with several former students and educationists bemoaning the low reading culture in Uganda. However, few have been as bold to point out why this is so. But from the offerings of this local government official, children are suffering early.
From a young age, once children learn how to read and write – little energy is expended to interest them in the newly acquired skills. Instead, the children are then piled high with homework and other writing assignments.
By P7, teachers routinely pile their learners with notes, which they are required to cram ahead of examinations. This practice continues into secondary school, and later up to college or university.
Thus few, who finally graduate, are willing to return to reading as a habit. The pressure of passing exams makes sure those who make it are exhausted by the incessant reading for the next level of learning.
Teachers and other instructors need to make reading and writing a pleasurable activity that rewards learners, rather than a chore that they can’t avoid. Students need to be encouraged to develop their own notes, which they can appreciate and reproduce at their own pace, instead of being made to answer with prescribed responses.
Additionally, schools need to encourage debating practice. Few can sustain debates unless they read up on debating materials. Examiners have already done their bit in varying the manner of questioning, requiring learners to prepare answers that they think for themselves – the next task is for the schools.
Unless reading is encouraged in schools, we could end up with a society of functionally illiterate readers.
On a rainy morning in November, Anansi decides that life would be lovelier with a mate.
A mate will be there for Anansi to share breakfast and supper with. A mate will be there for Anansi to curl up with at night to sleep. A mate will be there to share Anansi’s morning walks. A mate will still be there at the end of the day to share Anansi’s evening walks. Anansi wants to share each day with a mate.
After the rain ends, Anansi sets off to search for a mate. Anansi does not look for the cutest dog. Anansi does not look for the cleverest dog. Anansi wants only a peaceful mate, who will stay near and not wander off with another dog.
Anansi decides to search among the dogs that live nearby. Just next door, Anansi spots Scout, the golden dog with the big head. Scout keeps the neighbors awake with constant barking. Scout is discontented. Scout will not be a peaceful mate. Anansi trots on.
At the white house down the road, Anansi pauses to consider Hudson, whose hairs stand straight up like a lion. When Hudson sees Anansi on the road, Hudson growls and snarls. Anansi is used to Hudson. Anansi is not scared. Anansi does not run. Anansi just watches Hudson’s antics. Hudson is too angry to be a peaceful mate. Anansi trots on.
The yellow house across the road is where Sasha lives. Sasha is small and fluffy and sweet. But Sasha moves around with too many dogs. Sasha cannot decide on one mate. Sasha is not clear-headed. Sasha will not bring peace. Anansi trots on.
Anansi crosses the road to the unpainted house where Rolly lives. Rolly has short legs and so many hairs that you cannot see the legs. Rolly resembles a mop. Rolly has a mate, Pully. Pully is also short and hairy and resembles a mop. Rolly and Pully together resemble two mops mopping the floor. Rolly has a mate; and Pully has a mate. Anansi trots on.
Anansi stops to think. Anansi had considered all the dogs nearby. Anansi had not found a peaceful mate nearby. Anansi trots home alone. Tomorrow is a new day.
Some 115 teachers in Mayuge have returned to school, after nearly three weeks on strike over nonpayment of their salaries.
The teachers went on strike early in March after enduring nearly six months without pay. The strike appears to have pushed district leaders pay the salaries.
According to Paul Muzige, the district personnel officer, 86 out of the 115 teachers had their salaries cleared. “So far, the salaries of 86 teachers were paid in their known accounts and we hope to clear the remaining ones by the end of April,” Muzige told The Observer.
The district education officer, William Nadiope, added that all teachers had reported back to their respective schools. “Currently, all the pending issues regarding payments were handled smoothly by the finance department and, at the moment, all my teachers have embarked on their classroom duties,” he said.
However, Mayuge’s Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) chairperson, Bashir Kayeyera, claimed that all the teachers are still demanding for their January salaries.
“True, the biggest number of teachers received their salaries for the months of February and March, but January is still pending and the Finance departed has paid a deaf ear to our call,” Kayeyera said.
“On top of failing to handle our salary arrears, the personnel [officer] has not remitted money meant for servicing our loans in the various finance institutions for the past three months.”
The Uganda Management Institute (UMI) will effective next academic year start a programme on corporate governance, as a measure of dealing with rising corruption.
Addressing the 15th graduation congregation last Friday, UMI director Dr James Nkata said the process of redesigning its management training programmes was already underway.
He was speaking as the institution saw off 1,592 graduands at a colourful ceremony at its campus, along Jinja road, last Friday. The graduands received various degrees, diplomas and certificates for their efforts.
Excited graduands congratulate each other
Dr Nkata said that the UMI would work to find a solution for corruption in the public sector.
“We see this as our contribution towards providing answers to questions such as, why are institutions and organisations robbed?” Dr Nkata said.
Addressing the congregation for the first time as education minister, the chief guest, Janet Museveni, expressed pleasure that the UMI was working to deal with corruption.
“A good number of top and middle-level managers in Uganda (both public and private sector) have been trained here at UMI, which then leads me to ask the question to you – have you studied their impact on society?” she asked. “Are you satisfied with the output of your alumni?”
She appealed to the institution management to ensure that there was value for money in the instruction but also in the impact on the rest of the education sector.
The institution will hold separate graduation ceremonies for students who completed their studies at UMI’s upcountry campuses in Gulu and Mbarara, later on. This will bring the total number of graduands for the just-completed academic year to 2,108.
Tired of the unending complaints about the nature of its compound, Uganda Christian University (UCU) has decided to pave all muddy and dust roads at its main Mukono campus.
On April 19, 2017 UCU flagged off a Shs 1.7bn road infrastructure project to tarmac three kilometres of the roads and walkways and parking spaces on the campus.
While commissioning the works, the university vice chancellor, Dr John Senyonyi, acknowledged that the project was long overdue but blamed the delay on various competing priorities his administration has had to juggle over the years.
“The process has been long and has tested the patience of student leaders, staff and the administration alike. Making it to this day is a phenomenal achievement, a stride into the right direction,” he said.
Dr Senyonyi added that the tarmac roads would add to the university’s already enviable beauty and solve locomotion problems that often arise due to weather changes on the campus.
The vice chancellor, Dr John Senyonyi, speaks at the commissioning of the UCU roads project
David Mugawe, the deputy vice chancellor, Development and External Relations, also the project’s focal person, told The Observer that the project has undergone the required preliminary stages.
“The fiscal plans of the roads were designed by the university’s faculty of Science and Technology, particularly in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and were reviewed and approved by the ministry of Works and Transport.
“We opened the bidding and had very competitive offers but eventually the procurement committee settled for Stirling Civil Engineering Limited,” Mugawe said.
Stirling, he added, is a reputable company which has become a house-hold name for working on some of the most durable and long-lasting roads in the country.
Speaking at the commissioning, Rajendra Prasad Sure, Stirling’s regional finance officer, vowed to honour their contractual obligation by finishing the work in record time.
The Observer talked to students who currently are sitting their end-of-semester exams. They welcomed the construction, before adding that it was long overdue.
One of the students, Sharon Namake, a third-year Mass Communication student, noted that some of them had often wondered whether they were in fact walking around a garden of the Mukono-based campus.
UCU, the first private chartered university in Uganda, will mark 20 years of existence in October this year.
The Law Development Centre (LDC) is considering starting an in-depth evaluation of the pre-entry examination.
The aim of the evaluation is to asses whether it is serving its intended purpose of quality control at admission. Speaking at the 44th LDC graduation ceremony on Friday last week, LDC Director Frank Nigel Othembi said the institution is aware of concerns from various stakeholders regarding the challenges with the examination.
“Ideally, if pre-entry is supposed to bring us the best students and when they come here [they] still fail the bar course, we ask ourselves whether pre-entry is giving us the best of the best,” Othembi said.
LDC graduands eagerly checking the graduation list for their names
Any student intending to pursue a postgraduate bar course to become an advocate is subjected to a one-day pre-entry examination by the Law Council, as a prerequisite for joining LDC.
As a member of the Law Council, which regulates the law profession, Othembi assured The Observer that “they will definitely start the pre-entry discussion to see how they can improve the exam.
At least 152 bar course students failed to make this year’s graduation. This is after they failed both their final and supplementary (retake) exams. On Friday, the LDC awarded 222 students with diplomas in legal practice, diploma in law (436) and 37 got diplomas in human rights.
Francis Gimara, the president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), cautioned the bar course graduands to refrain from corruption tendencies that have infiltrated courts of law.
“We request you to remain virgins of professional intergrity as you join this noble field. Your lot should leave a legacy in courts that this nation will cherish forever,” Gimara said.
His remarks were reiterated by the attorney general, William Byaruhanga, who was chief guest at the ceremony.
“You are graduating at a time when the country is suffering a major ethical deficit and you should work towards moral aptitude while in the field,” Byaruhanga said.
Diploma in law graduands
Meanwhile, students who excelled from the three courses were awarded by various law firms, LDC, ULS, the principal judge, the attorney general and the minister for public service.
The students also recognised Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura with a lifetime achievement award for his role in supporting and addressing their concerns in the guild consortium.
In 2005, Bridge International Academies (BIA) started operations in Uganda. Then, not many knew much about them, until the education ministry ordered the closure of 63 of their schools last year.
Since then, the academy proprietors have been in and out of court over the ministry's decision. As YUDAYA NANGONZI writes, BIA seems to have succumbed to the pressure while the ministry remains reluctant.
When government sanctioned a nation-wide closure of all unlicensed schools this year, BIA was one of the private schools that attempted to put its records straight. The academies had failed to meet the basic minimum requirements.
A 2016 inspection report by the ministry had found BIA facilities with poor infrastructure, hygiene and sanitation which “put the life of school children in danger”.
Education minister Janet Museveni, who presented the findings to parliament, noted then that the schools also followed a curriculum that was not approved. The House sanctioned the ministry’s call to close the schools until they meet the required operating standards.
Primary one children copy their classwork from printed booklets
In Uganda and elsewhere in Africa and Asia, BIA classrooms are uniform but very simple in construction. A visit by The Observer to various academies in Wakiso district found that the classrooms, offices and toilets are made of bricks up to the window level. The rest of the structure is completed with lemon green iron sheets. In place of windows, chicken wire mesh is used.
REGISTRATION
For now, The Observer has learnt, Bridge officials have acceded to the ministry’s request and presented files for their schools to be licensed. In a brief letter to the education ministry dated January 25, 2017, Andrew White, the BIA managing director, wrote to the ministry’s permanent secretary applying for licenses for only 28 academies.
Yet, in total, bridge has 63 academies and approximately 12,000 learners in primary and nursery schools.
“We write in line with the schools licensing regulatory requirements to submit the following applications for licensing and registration,” White wrote, before ending: “We will appreciate your acknowledgement of receipt and will appreciate your guidance through this process.”
We have established that the letter was not received by the permanent secretary, Alex Kakooza but, rather, the Teacher/tutor, Instructor Education and Training (TIET) department official as seen by the stamp and signature on his behalf dated January 25, 2017.
Whenever a school intends to seek a license, TIET is the first stop where its teachers’ qualifications are verified before the files are sent to other departments like secondary, tertiary or primary for field inspections.
The BIA letter was also copied to all district education officers and inspectors of schools. White also attached a list of the academies located in Wakiso, Bugiri, Iganga, Jinja and Tororo districts that should be worked on.
According to the list, Wakiso district has the highest number of academies at 18. It is followed by Jinja with six, Tororo (two) and Iganga and Bugiri each with one academy.
In an interview with The Observer last year, Griffin Asigo, who identified himself as the regional manager for BIA operations in Uganda, said they had established academies in at least 40 districts including Mubende, Hoima, Kumi, Lwengo, Masaka, Lyantonde and Soroti. Asigo said BIA targets to admit 10 million learners across the world by 2025.
Since the school term started on February 6, all 63 academies have been in session, despite a clampdown on illegal schools by the ministry. The schools will see their term close on May 5, like the others, in line with the government school calendar.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
The ministry released an inspection report labeling BIA schools illegal. However, ministry and BIA officials have recently been locked in meetings at Legacy Towers to resolve the matter.
In one such closed-door meeting, BIA officials again presented files to the ministry seeking licenses for their schools. Under pressure then, a ministry official indicated that the ministry would not rush into licensing the schools without inspecting them again. In between the deliberations, Bridge had also rushed to High court to block the impending closure.
“How sure are we that what these people have presented to us is accurate information? They must be in a panic to present these files,” the official said then.
The deliberations at the meeting with the ministry were later confirmed by Asigo during our interview.
“It is true the meeting took place but we did not come to a conclusion because the discussions are still ongoing,” Asigo said. “We want to ensure that we use these remaining two weeks to the end of [2016] second term to sort everything.”
Since then, licensing of BIA schools has been on hold due to an impending court case where bridge had secured an injunction blocking their closure. A source at the ministry disclosed to us last week that they were surprised that the officials had again presented files seeking licenses this year.
“Yes, we received their [BIA] files again but we have decided not to touch them until they resolve their ongoing meetings with the minister and the court case,” the official said on condition of anonymity, referring to the matter as “complex”.
Asked why they accepted to receive the BIA files again, the source said: “We received them not knowing that the court case was on. But we have not even opened the files since they were delivered in January as directed by one of the bosses.”
DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
While Bridge is interested in having 28 schools licensed, the ministry is still reluctant to work on them. A high-ranking official at the ministry told The Observer that a lot of discussions are still ongoing on the future of this chain of schools across the country.
“We have not yet resolved on Bridge issues because consultations are still ongoing,” the official said. “For instance, we can say 10 of the schools can operate as we observe their performance; request NCDC to check their curriculum and get assurance from Bridge that they will improve on their infrastructure, and not by word of mouth.”
The official added: “So, when we go slowly on these issues, you should appreciate the ministry’s efforts in wanting quality education for Ugandan children.”
According to the official, Bridge officials are not coming out clearly on their intentions to offer ‘low-cost’ education which the source thinks is not low to an ordinary parent.
The fees structure in Bridge schools varies from one academy to another, depending on its location. For instance, at one of the academies in Wakiso district, the admission fee is Shs 10,000 while Baby to Top class learners pay Shs 86,000, P1-P3 (Shs 98,300) and P4-P5 (Shs 108,500) as tuition fees. Uniforms are at Shs 40,000 while sweaters are sold at Shs 23,300. All money is paid in the bank since there are no bursars at all the academies.
BRIDGE SPEAKS
On April 18, this reporter contacted Solomon Serwanjja, the BIA spokesman, to explain their efforts to have the schools licensed and the court case resolved but he spoke briefly and hung up.
“We are actually in a meeting that is discussing what you are asking me. Just give me some time and I will get back to you when we are done,” Serwanjja said early last week.
When he did not call back, we rang him again on April 20 around midday and he said: “Actually, sorry that I did not call back. The person who was supposed to give me all the information you need, did not give us an update [in the meeting]. But I promise to get you information by close of business today [Thursday].”
Serwanjja is yet to call back or send an email as promised.
Bridge International academies submitted for licensing
Last Thursday, a fraternity of private school owners gathered at Standard High School in Zana for the second delegates’ conference of the federation of non-state education institutions.
The day’s business saw directors from private kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as well as colleges working out the basics on how to make their federation work.
They had to agree on tenets of the memorandum and articles of association, as well as the election of some interim committee members. But the master stroke of the whole action was the invitation of the director of Basic Education, Dr Robinson Nsumba-Lyazi, and his colleague, the commissioner for Private Schools and Institutions, Ismail Mulindwa.
And the two men did not disappoint. Preferring to stay above the fray as the directors jostled for positions, the two gave their blessing to the federation. In separate speeches, Dr Nsumba-Lyazi and Mulindwa argued that the federation would bring directors together, making it easier for the education sector to relate with them on mutually important policy matters.
Mulindwa Said: This will put right what is not done the right way … so that you are taken seriously when the sector is distributing scholastic materials like textbooks and others”.
Nsumba-Lyazi was happy to pledge that once the federation was up and running, its executives would be invited to ministry meetings to help grind out pressing sector issues.
Expectedly, this attracted the loudest cheer and the greatest interest, since school owners have had innumerable complaints to make about the ministry for years.
Over the years, the ministry bureaucrats just locked themselves behind paneled doors and made decisions that irritated the school owners more. Now things will have to change, the bureaucrats will be sitting in those meetings with the school owners.
Hopefully, the smiles will be broader, as the ministry and the school owners agree on many issues. Alternatively, both will grin through the pain as the reality that some of their best hopes can’t be reached immediately, comes home.
In the end, it is always good when an extra set of brains gets ready to embrace and resolve the sector’s problems.
As many a parent knows by now, children will be concluding their first school term of the year this week.
While those in other areas will have school reports with exam results to present, the situation will be different in Buikwe district. That is after teachers there went on strike two weeks ago to protest the nonpayment of two month's salaries.
When we visited one of the affected schools, Baptist PS in Wakisi division, Buikwe last week, the pupils there were preoccupied with games such as rope skipping as well as hide and seek, after their teachers failed to show up at school.
The situation was the same in the divisions of Nyenga, and Njeru. Meanwhile, the teachers gathered outside the Njeru municipality offices to demand their salaries from district authorities.
Billy Ssemusa, the chairman of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union, was on hand to explain the situation.
“We have put down chalk and decided to seek the town clerk’s address on salary arrears we’ve faced in the month of January and March,”Semusa said. “It is examination [time] and our teachers have vowed not to give exams to the pupils if concerned authorities fail their mandate of paying us.”
Martin Mukwana, the director of Studies at Nyenga Boys primary school, sympathized with the aggrieved teachers, arguing that it was not possible to compel the teachers to set exams for the pupils.
“[It is dangerous] to our pupils if we let teachers who are stressed with loans to set and supervise exams.
It is better for them to be paid before handling the exercise,” Mukwana said. “Why should teachers be tossed about with calls of ‘come tomorrow all the time’ yet they also have families to sustain.”
When asked, the town clerk, Jamil Kasajja blamed the situation on a shortfall in the district’s third quarter budget.
“When payments were transferred from the district headquarters to municipality level, we failed to come up with the exact number of teachers and in the long run realized that we had made a shortfall of Shs 270m meant for salaries,” Kasajja said.
However, Kasajja complained that some of the teachers had absconded from duty for almost two years only to reappear demanding for payment.
He said they were working to resolve the matter ahead of the next term. Njeru municipality has a total of 38 government-aided primary schools with 460 teachers on government payroll.
Irene Kyomuhangi’s presentation, Superheroes and Aliens, was selected by judges as the best at the inaugural FameLab finale held at Kabira Country club, Bukoto, last Thursday.
The win means Kyomuhangi will represent Uganda and go head-to-head with other contestants from 30 countries at the International FameLab competition in the UK to be held in in June 2017.
Kyomuhangi, a graduate from Aston University in Birmingham, and with a master's from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Immunology of Infectious Diseases, described the FameLab as a great platform to explain their passion and possibly recruit more people into the cause.
Irene Kyomuhangi (2nd right) emerged overall best in the FameLab finale
FameLab was set up by the Cheltenham festival in 2005 with a purpose of nurturing scientists with a flair for communication with public audiences. In Uganda, it is being positioned as a platform to increase the uptake of science subjects in secondary schools and also to nurture scientists with communication skills in order for them to be able to speak about their work and ultimately expose themselves to global opportunities.
“FameLab is meant to excite young people about science. We need to choose someone to be an ambassador for science in Uganda and we hope that person will play a role in developing enthusiasm for science in Uganda,” said Fiona Inci, director of British Council.
Some 70 Ugandans from different spheres of science applied. These were doctors, engineers and laboratory researchers, among others. These were whittled down to 10 finalists.
The judges Maurice Mugisha, Dr Dithan Kiragga, Phillipa Makobore, Sam Opio and Fiona Inci were looking for content, clarity and charisma in the presentations.
The Ugandan edition is organized by the British Council - the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities in partnership with Cipla Quality Chemicals Industries Limited.
Lawrence Mulindwa is renowned for turning his St Mary’s SS Kitende into the country’s top performer.
However, the educationist has a different idea when it comes to higher learning. Mulindwa advises parents, especially those who are well-off, to broaden their children’s scope of understanding by sending them to international institutions.
He said this on April 22 during the graduation party of his two daughters, Claire and Olivia Mulindwa at St Mary’s stadium in Kitende.
“Our universities are good. In fact, Makerere [University] is the best higher learning institution in the region but the reason why I took my children to United Kingdom universities was to give them more exposure which will also benefit other people in the process,” he said.
The colorful event was graced by hundreds of guests from all walks of life, including Justice Esther Kisakye, Hardware World’s Simon Sekankya, Makerere University’s Dr Umar Kakumba and StarTimes’ Aldrine Nsubuga, among others. Charles Bakkabulindi, the state minister for sports, was chief guest.
Claire and Dad Lawrence Mulindwa
The siblings recently completed their second degrees; Claire graduating with a master’s in Accounting and Finance at the University of Surrey, while Olivia attained a master’s in International Business and Entrepreneurship from Aston University.
"When they got their bachelor's two years ago in UK, I promised to take them back for master's. Thank God I have done it. I’m sure the exposure and international networks they have acquired will see them succeed everywhere,” a jovial Mulindwa said.
Mulindwa also touched on the sensitive issue of employing family members in one's business. He pointed out that it is healthy to give children first-hand experience by working with them. “Only then can they understand the struggle you went through and it also ensures a seamless continuity even when you are not around,” he said.
Claire has already joined her father at the school and works in the accounts department. Though Olivia holds ambitions of pursuing a doctorate, Mulindwa wants his daughters to first put their skills to use.
On his part, Bakkabulindi praised Mulindwa’s efforts in education and sports. “Kitende is barely 20 years but Mulindwa is the reason why it is the dominant school in Uganda and many parents are yearning to take their children there,” he said.
A repugnant stench hangs in an open space as a group of Gulu University students walk past a toilet on their main campus, grimacing with a sense of disgust. JOHN OKOT has been looking at the impact of a one month water shortage on the university.
A group of students are trying to keep up with a lecture, adjacent to the main hall at Gulu University. However, a few metres away, flies are hovering over the front porch of a toilet there, motivated by an acrid stench coming from inside.
From the level of the smell, it is a miracle that the class is still going on. Titus Semakula, a second-year Education student, agrees that the foul smell from the toilets has created an unfavorable learning environment for two weeks now. When The Observer visited on Monday, it was clear he had had it with the situation.
“We don’t have water in our toilets. This problem has even worsened with the strong bad smell from toilets that destract us from learning,” he said.
James Okello, a first-year student studying on the bachelor of Business Administration programme, says most students are seeking redress outside their campus.
“They are worried that some of them might contract urinary infections, due to the state of the toilets. It is really bad,” Okello said.
Gulu residents preparing to collect water. The water shortage has paralysed work in Gulu
Okello and Semakula are concerned since Gulu municipality has been facing water shortage for the past one month. However, the crisis reached a critical stage last week when both valley dams (Oyitino dam 1 and 2) dried up. And one of the students, Okello, says they are in a bad space.
“Even the water that the university brings from outside is not enough to address the problem because it is taken to serve the administration block while students’ toilets are left out,” Okello complained.
This followed a statement last Thursday, by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), stating that the dwindling water supply in the municipality had been affected by the prolonged dry spell.
“This severe weather has led to a drastic drop in the water level in Oyitino dam, the main source of water in the municipality. The drop in water levels renders the dam virtually dry,” the statement reads in part.
Consequently, Gulu University deputy public relations officer, Mahmud Khalid, says the institution has been spending at least Shs 1.6 million weekly to collect water from outside town using police water trucks.
“We also rely on the electric water pump outside the university which also provides little and is at times unreliable especially when power is off,” Khalid added
WATER RATIONING
With the dry spell continuing in northern Uganda, NWSC has resorted to rationing water to its clients. The NWSC regularly supplies five million litres of water daily to its 6,000 clients on the grid. However, in the last two weeks, the water supply can only generate 1.5 million litres, leaving a shortage of 3.5 million litres.
The NWSC Gulu branch manager, Stephen Gang, says the crisis is worse than what occurred last year in April, adding that even the newly dug Oyitino dam 2 meant to support Oyitino dam 1, has since dried up. He adds that Oyitino dam 2 will now have to be ‘widened and dug deeper’
“This crisis is even worse compared to the one we had last year yet we are approaching May and it is not raining. We are working on the Oyitino dam 2 to collect more water for future use,” he said.
Oyitino dam 2 was established in April last year by a team of Uganda People’s Defense Force soldiers (UPDF) who dug trenches so as to allow nearby streams flow into it in a bid to restore more source of water supply, after Oyitino dam 1 dried completely.
At the moment, Gang notes, despite the fact that they have to rely on the three newly constructed electric boreholes - in Onyang, Unyama and Mican - that will produce 600,000 litres of water daily, it is also not enough.
He furthers states that seven additional electric boreholes will also be constructed where each will take two weeks to complete: “We are looking for the right place for construction, from that we do the survey and test before we start construction,” he said
For now, Semakula and Okello can only look on helplessly as the water shortage makes their institution more uncomfortable to live in. “We hope that something can be done urgently; otherwise, we are in trouble here … people are cutting classes to avoid the smell from the toilets,” Semakula says.
The institution will hold separate graduation ceremonies for students who completed their studies at UMI’s upcountry campuses in Gulu and Mbarara, later on. This will bring the total number of graduands for the just-completed academic year to 2,108.
