Mak



ON THE OCASSION OF mAKERERE UNIVERSITY HOSTING THE Vice President OF KENYA, h.e. sTEPHEN Kalonzo Musyoka, MP.

VICE-CHANCELLOR, PROFESSOR VENANSIUS BARYAMUREEBA’S WELCOME remarks, 10.10.2011

H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, the Vice-President of Kenya;

H.E. Edward K. Sekandi, the Vice-President of the Republic of Uganda;

Honourable Ministers and Members of Parliament Present;

The Chancellor of Makerere University, Chairman and members of Makerere University Council;

Staff and students of Makerere University

Distinguished Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of Makerere University and on my own behalf, I welcome you all to Makerere University. Let me in a special way welcome our two Vice-Presidents; H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, the Vice-President of the Republic of Kenya and H.E. Edward K. Sekandi, the Vice-president of the Republic of Uganda.

Makerere University was established in 1922 as a humble technical college. By 1935, it had expanded to become a centre of excellence in Higher Education in East Africa and later transformed into the University of East Africa on 29th June 1963 with three campuses at Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. On July 1, 1970, Makerere became an independent national university of the Republic of Uganda and so did Nairobi for Kenya and Dar es Salaam for Tanzania.

Currently, Makerere ranks among the top 10 Universities in Africa and thus the best University in Africa outside the Republic of South Africa and Egypt.

Let me use this opportunity to thank H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, the Vice-President of Kenya for having chosen Makerere University as the institution where to deliver the historic public lecture on "East Africa in Development Transition: The Light ahead is not an Oncoming Train". The choice of Makerere University is not only appropriate but also deserving.

H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka is an elected Member of Parliament for Mwingi North Constituency, Kenya since 1985 to date. He served as a Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Kenya from 1988-1992. Since 1986 he has held several Cabinet and political party positions. He has served as Vice-President of Kenya since 2008 to date. He is a Lawyer by training. In summary he has been in politics longer than the period NRM government has been in power and he also has a lot in common with H.E. Vice-President Edward K. Sekandi. H.E. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka is one of the few people within East Africa that can authoritatively talk about "East Africa in Development Transition’’.

Makerere is the alma mater or “mother school” that “gave birth” to Pan-African Vanguard Nationalists who championed East Africa’s Independence struggle, e.g., late Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere in Tanzania in 1961; late Dr Apolo Milton Obote and late Sir Edward Walugembe Mutesa II in Uganda in 1962; and late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and H.E Mwai Kibaki in Kenya in 1963. These vanguard nationalists stamped Academia’s role in East Africa’s Politics for Independence. This is embodied in Makerere’s motto: WE BUILD FOR THE FUTURE.

Makerere, therefore, has continued her pace- setter leadership for Africa’s Independence and Development. This is symbolized by three monuments on our Main Campus, namely: (a) Africa Hall of Residence for Female Students in honor of Mother Africa; (b) Lumumba and (c) Nkrumah Male Halls of Residence in honor of the two iconic vanguard leaders of the struggle for Africa’s Independence. It is in Makerere that Lumumba is celebrated as a martyr who “died for Africa” and Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah as the “sower of the seed of the ‘United States of Africa”!

MAKERERE TODAY

Hence on this threshold of East Africa’s Golden Jubilee of Independence; Makerere stands tall as East Africa’s oldest and premier University! Our 10-year Strategic Plan 2008/09 -2018/09 is our firm foundation for Makerere’s repositioning to meet emerging development challenges in Uganda, EA and Africa. We have therefore decided to shift from teacher centered instruction to learner centered pedagogy in order to produce graduates with problem solving skills and reflective ability. Additionally, Makerere has decided to place more premiums on research, ICT, community engagement and towards knowledge production for the growing knowledge economy of East Africa.

The recent reforms and innovations at Makerere University include:

1. Transformation into a Collegiate University; with nine (9) constituent colleges and one semi-autonomous School of Law. The College are College of Health Sciences; College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security; College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; College of Computing and Information Sciences; College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology; College of Natural Sciences; College of Business and Management Sciences; College of Humanities and Social Sciences; and College of Education and External Studies.

2. Restructured academic programmes to meet the development needs of the region. We have 95 undergraduate degree programmes and 149 postgraduate programmes. Thus Makerere University is gradually biasing its training to graduate training hence the need for special status in regard to financing within the Higher Education sector in Uganda since the unit cost on graduate programmes is much higher.

3. Makerere University has also undertaken administrative and financial reforms with the aim of ensuring value for money and efficient service delivery to all our stakeholders.

4. Upcountry Campuses: In order to bring education nearer to the people, Makerere University set up two upcountry campuses i.e. Jinja Campus and the Fort Portal Campus and it plans to set up more campuses at national and regional level.

5. On Gender and affirmative action, Makerere’s female admissions have increased from 25% in 1990/91 to approx 50% as seen during the 60th and 61st Graduation Ceremonies in 2010 and 2011 respectively. This has been a phenomenal achievement. There is a fully fledged School of Gender and Women Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. We also have a fully fledged Gender Mainstreaming Directorate.

Other Innovative Approaches

i) The College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security has established the Africa Institute for Strategic Animal Resource Services and Development (AFRISA) as a joint Government-University agency for advancing University-led community development, taking the University to the community so to speak.

AFRISA promotes transformative skills, technology, innovations and community service, through unique Academic-Public-Private Partnerships.

ii) The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology will soon unveil Uganda’s first electric car, the “Kiira-EV” thanks to active support from the GoU, especially H.E President Museveni, for the funding through the Presidential Science Initiative. The Kiira-EV is a fruit of a global partnership in which the world’s top Universities undertook to design and build an energy efficient car. Makerere was the only University from the African continent.

iii) The School of Food Science Technology, Nutrition and Bio-Engineering in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is spearheading cutting edge innovations and incubations especially in the area of food processing.

iv) College of Health Sciences is on the leading edge of research and community outreach, especially in HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases.

v) There are several other innovations/ achievements by Makerere University and for more please visit our website: mak.ac.ug

MAKERERE’S ROAD MAP AHEAD

As John F. Kennedy said, ‘’our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource’’.

As a region we need to invest in Higher Education. For example, Makerere University and University of Nairobi have approximately 40,000 students each and yet the budget of Makerere University stands at US$ 50 million compared to about US$ 150 million for University of Nairobi.

For the year ended 30th June 2005, ( ) this is a brief summary of key statistics about Harvard University: Student population 19,844; Academic staff 2,117; total endowment US23 billion; total expenditure US$ 2.8 billion; Salary and wages US$ 1.1 billion; compound maintenance US$56 million.

In Uganda we are using less than 1,000 pounds pa to train a chemist compared to over 15,000 pounds pa in UK. Makerere University imports the laboratory chemicals from UK to teach chemists.

Time is now for the EAC member states to agree on a funding model for Higher Education. Ghana, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, India among others present some models that could be studied.

Makerere University is committed like never before to building for the future. For example;

• Makerere has embarked on rallying her distinguished alumni—Makerere’s brand—towards revitalizing alumni support to their alma mater.

• Makerere will celebrate her distinguished alumni to harness their networks towards building endowments for sustainability.

• Makerere plans to honor distinguished personalities and make them part of Makerere University alumni community.

• Makerere will continue with concerted resource mobilization efforts through innovative and creative approaches.

• Makerere will continue to engage in resource mobilization activities and undertake reforms that will ensure improved quality of teaching and learning, improved research and innovations output and community engagement.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS-CALENDAR IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS

• The process is underway to recognise in perpetuity our outstanding alumnus, H.E Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya; the 1st person to get a First Class Degree in Economics at Makerere University in 1955. He later joined the London School of Economics from 1955 to1958 where he graduated with a distinction and then returned to Makerere University as an Assistant Lecturer from 1958 to1960. The ceremony is slated for later this year.

• Makerere will host HRH Sylvia Nagginda Luswata, the Nnabagereka, and Patron of the Female Scholarship Foundation, Gender Mainstreaming Directorate of Makerere University on Friday 21st October 2011 from 2-6pm.

• Makerere will host a high profile public lecture in rebirth of the Makerere Africa Lecture Series; in celebration of East Africa’s 50 years of Independence; and for inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the Female Scholarship Foundation, FSF, on Friday 2nd December and Saturday 3rd December 2011. There will also be a launch of the book “Freedom of Women” written in 1944 by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere while a student at Makerere. Our outstanding alumnus and former Guild President, Hon Professor Peter Anyang Nyongo, Minister of Medical Services, Republic of Kenya, will be the Lecture Presenter.

• I am in touch with our distinguished alumnus and a ‘Lumumbist’: Hon Samuel Poghisio, MP, Kenya’s Minister for Information and Communications, and Chairman of ODM-Kenya, about inviting him for a high profiled public lecture in this our world renowned Main Hall sometime in January 2012.

• Makerere will host Dr Shelby F. Lewis, Deputy Chair of the J.W Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Foundation Board, for a public lecture in our world renowned Main Hall on the topic: “The Fulbright Scholarship and Africa during President Obama’s Administration”. This will take place on 24th February 2012. It will also be in celebration of Black History Month in North America. H.E Jerry Lanier, US Ambassador to Uganda has agreed to be one of Dr Lewis’ lecture discussants. It is noteworthy that Dr Lewis was once a teacher at Nabumali High School and Tororo Girls School in Eastern Uganda where she began her international career. She also worked as Makerere’s Extra Mural Lecturer at the time.

• These are a few of the many milestones in Makerere’s roadmap towards a bright future. As John F. Kennedy said ‘’ A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on’’. Many generations after us will still build for the future.

Let me end by thanking all those who participated in organizing this event.

As we build for the future; For God and my County, I thank you.

It is now my singular honor and privilege to invite the Chancellor of Makerere University, Professor Mondo Kagonyera, to address us.

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