President Yoweri Museveni has diagnosed Makerere University’s problem as the teaching of unmarketable arts programmes.
Museveni officiated at the installation of new vice chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe on Thursday.
Museveni described the teaching of humanities as random teaching, cracking jokes on some courses like conflict resolution and psychology.
“The problem of Makerere are these courses that are not market oriented courses because it is both unfair to the country and parents because they pay for disciplines that have no demand in the job market,” Museveni said.
Nawangwe promised to review the academic programmes as advised by the president. He revealed that the university had cut some 150 programmes, reducing the number from 400 to 250 – since August 2015 when the administration met the president.
The incoming vice chancellor then reported land grabbers who he said were draining the university of money spent in court cases.
Museveni directed the lands ministry to cancel the fake land titles owned by grabbers.
“We shall cancel any land titles that have been produced on the university land,” Museveni vowed.
Nawangwe, who takes over from Prof John Ddumba Ssentamu, will lead the institution until 2022. He has been the deputy vice chancellor in charge of finance and administration.
On 31st August 2017, Prof Ddumba-Ssentamu handed over office to Prof Nawangwe.
Among other things, Nawangwe has promised to revamp sports centres, tagging lack of facilities as the cause of endless strikes at Uganda’s largest and oldest higher institution of learning.
A new modern indoor netball stadium will be completed in September 2018 as part of a multi-purpose sports complex, revealed the professor of architecture.
“The lack of sports facilities negatively affects the health of the minds of students who many a times resort to strikes to release their energy”, said Nawangwe
“Ultimately the goal is to re-develop the university sports grounds into a multi-purpose modern stadium starting with the indoor stadium to accommodate the third word universities’ world championship that Makerere will host in September 2018 on behalf of Uganda.”
Video Credit: NBS TV
https://youtu.be/U7mAshh0s34
