60th Graduation ceremony

TUESDAY 19TH JANUARY 2010

Vice chancellor’s speech

  • Welcomes the former vice chancellor Professor Sebuwfu John
  • 13,767 students (biggest number) are graduating the whole week with a percentage of 50.4% female.
  • The 60th graduation has more degrees at master level with 760 males and 489 female with 39 doctorate degrees.
  • New team of management was elected which will aim at implementing a higher level of academic excellence.
  • Appeals to members of parliament and politicians to ensure that professors are offered a good and favorable working environment so that they can have the liberty of taking their sons and daughters to the best schools of their choice.
  • Makerere is improving the quality of services rendered to the students i.e. transcripts will be issued out to the graduates on the day of graduation.
  • Assures the former vice chancellor that the university is going to be computerized wide internet coverage in all faculty buildings, professors’ homes (those who reside at campus) and the students’ halls of residence.
  • He thanks the media for attending the graduation ceremony and appreciates their coverage.
  • Thanks the government too for being a partner to the university since they work hand in hand because the government offers jobs to a very large number of graduates and they too, support the government ministries like ministry of health, Education and others where students go for internship.
  • Thanks Uganda Telecom for internet connectivity and the support offered through ICT support.
  • University has made partnerships with multi-national companies and faculties will partner with at least one NGO or Ministry to improve the educational services offered at MakerereUniversity.
  • The MUK Alumni which is over 200,000should remain helping and giving material, moral and financial support to the university so that Makerere becomes a strong brand in the region.
  • Next year, the staff should work towards making MUK the best university in Africa. Much emphasis should be put on areas of advantage that will yield experts to reach the international university standards.
  • Advises the graduands to show high level of dignity and respect with faith and hope. They should do refresher courses which “accelerate” the journey of life and provide better chances of job opportunities. They should continue with the spirit of building for the future and know that MUK is their home.

Chancellor

Recognizes the former VC whom he worked with for five years and appreciates his enormous hard work towards the university.

Complains about the poor quality of accommodation services offered to the people during special events of the university (tents).

Congratulates those awarded first class degrees and briefly explains what a first class degree means and what it indicates according to the British style i.e. awarded considering academic performance and personal behavior and conduct outside class.

Government should improve the quality of education in rural areas so that they too, contribute to great performance at university level.

This year, MUK has the biggest number of graduates with more females. He thanks the parents for educating their daughters and the government for the affirmative action but it should endeavor to create jobs for the 13000 graduates from Makerere.

`Congratulates management for addressing the problems raised by the society (transcript issue).He explains what university education refers too. It is not all about education in lecture rooms and research but also shaping students into respectable citizens who learn from others through socializing with the public and all kinds of people irrespective of their academic level.

Pays tribute to the university council and the newly elected team which should be focused to addressing the problems and issues that need to be handled in Makerere.

Government and NGOs should be prepared to take advantage of the knowledge that Makerere students have to the maximum in designing policies and implementing them and this can be achieved through research and innovations.

Appeals to the government to set up a new University and Higher Institution Act so that a legal framework under which universities and higher institutions operate. This is to provide quality educational services to those at universities and higher tertiary institutions.

WEDNESDAY 20TH JANUARY 2010

Vice Chancellor’s speech

  • Congratulates Members of staff who are graduating and the Minister of State Honorable Mwesigwa Rukutana whose daughter ids graduating.
  • Thanks the Senate, Council, Deans and the Principal for transforming the university because performance is better this year with 200 first class degrees.
  • Next semester, registration will be online to provide more avenues for registration services, students will get their Identity cards in time to ensure that they do not miss lectures or exams in a struggle to get them. There will be full coverage of wireless internet network and to open up an information centre in the Senate building to give information about MUK.
  • In the next two months a hotline is to be set up with an email address for complaints and suggestions .This is aimed at improving relations with stake holders and the public.
  • New campuses are to be set up in Jinja and FortPortal and other parts of the country to reduce the high costs of long distance education.
  • New programs are going to be set up in the area of nursing for students to contribute to the health of the public.
  • Calls upon the telecom sector to offer their services to the university like Uganda Telecom and the Alumni under the Convocationfor resource mobilization for MUK to reach the international standards.
  • Refresher courses for free.

Chancellor

He complains about the government offering sponsorship to students who perform well yet they are from good schools with parents who are financially stable than offering it to products of UPE and USE and this leads to a divided country.

Complains about garbage in Kampala and he calls it “obscene”.

Collaborating with other universities in Uganda is very important and appeals to the private sector to inject more funds in MUK for the university to offer great knowledge to the students since the private sector is the major consumer of Makerere product (graduates).

THURSDAY 21ST JANUARY 2010

Vice Chancellor

  • Delighted because the principal MUBS Mr. Juma Wasswa Balunywa and the chairperson of the MUBS council both attend the Graduation ceremony at MUK.
  • Appeals to the government to offer a higher living wage to the professors and lecturers for better living conditions.
  • Online learning is to be started to offer education to the people in masses especially products of USE.
  • Ministries of Finance and Education offered some money to enable research in the public university
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has produced a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture and this is to be funded by JICA. Government has offered 1sq mile ranch for research and the Ministry of Education has allocated funds for the development of Animal industry.
  • MUK is to play the leading role in Economic and Technological development of the country through producing competent and skilled people in the country.
  • The relationship between the staff and the Alumni should be strengthened for the Alumni to offer services, articles and decisions on how to turn MUK one of the best 20 universities in the world.
  • Transparency and accountability will be ensured for proper allocation of funds.
  • Next semester students will get their transcripts and certificates on the day they graduate. It is also planned that in future students will be getting transcripts at the end of every semester and only get their certificates on Graduation.

Chancellor

Specially recognized the presence of Honorable Mayanja Nkangi and the Chairperson of the council of MUBS Dr. Sentongo Collins.

FRIDAY 22ND JANUARY 2010

Vice chancellor

  • Recognizes a delegation from North DakotaStateUniversity which is to start running a joint program with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine this year.
  • NORAD is to offer funds for research to the Faculty of Forestry, and the Swiss government is to offer funds worth 200m US$.
  • Intakes at the Faculty of Science are reducing so he appeals to the government to increase intakes on Government sponsorship.
  • Need to work as a team to build a first class university.
  • A joint project with Rwanda is to be undertaken.
  • Professor Mahmud Mamdani is to offer time to spend 75% of his time in Makerere to strengthen the Alumni.
  • 5000 rooms are going to be set up to improve accommodation to students and the halls of residence are to be renovated.
  • Appeals to the graduands to be social and continue with the spirit of faith, hope and love, associate with important people.

“If you walk with wise men then you will be wise and if you work with successful people, you will be successful.”

  • Recognizes prof. Joy Kwesiga one of the champions of gender Mainstreaming

Chairperson Makerere Council

Congratulates all graduands especially those with doctorates, master and first class degrees.

Congratulates professors, lecturers and the senate who have helped to expand the body of students turning them into future leaders of the country.

Thanked the outgoing management of MUK.

Many of the Council members are going to continue act as institutional representatives whether they have retired or still part of MUK staff.

He says he has enjoyed the best relationship of leadership in Makerere and he thanks the students and the minister of education who elected him into power.

Chancellor

“I am very determined to continue rendering services to Makerere university…Whether chancellor or not”

“I hope we are not establishing many universities in Uganda but Universities to last for the class.”

He thanks the private students’ parents for sacrificing to pay their tuition all the years in campus.

MUK must have collaboration with other universities in Uganda and internationally so that Old students (Alumni) become the flag bearers of the university in their countries. Gives an example of President Mkapa who was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Laws and Kibaki who was the first person to get a first class degree at MUK.