General
The 64th Mak Graduation-A ceremony of Firsts
The 64th graduation ceremony at Makerere University has smoothly continued for the second day running, with 2,318 students from the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) and the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) graduating.
The best student in Sciences, Sarah Kimala (Pictured Centre), with a CGPA of 4.83 graduated today and received a plaque and a cheque of 1m shillings from The Convocation. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) also presented an award to the best student in Bachelor of commerce, Yiga Henry Matovu, who obtained a CGPA of 4.53. The plaque he received is the first of its kind and will henceforth mark the beginning of subsequent ones.
The ceremony also saw the first cohort of students offering a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering from CoCIS graduate. As noted by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Ddumba- Ssentamu, the first cohort of students from Makerere University Jinja campus also graduated, in this highly unique ceremony.
"The 64th graduation ceremony is unique in three ways: One, for the first time, students from Somaliland who have been pursuing their studies from Sheik Technical Veterinary School with support from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) are receiving diplomas of Makerere University in absentia. We congratulate the College for this initiative. Second, 67 of the pioneer students at our Jinja Campus will receive degrees in Information Technology, Business Administration and Development Studies. Of the 67, four [4] will receive first class degrees. We congratulate the pioneer students, the Coordinator of Jinja Campus, Professor J. B. Nyakaana together with his team. Third, ten [10] pioneers of the Female Scholarship Foundation [FSF] who benefitted from tuition waiver offered by the University are graduating. The Female Scholarship Foundation was established in November 2010 and as a sign of commitment and ownership, Makerere University offered 20 scholarships per year in form of tuition waiver starting with the academic year 2010/2011. This is a gesture of our social responsibility and efforts to ensure equitable access to higher education in Uganda,” he emphasized.The Vice Chancellor was grateful to Makerere University members of Staff for the job well done in preparing graduates. “I would like to thank all members of staff of Makerere University for your dedicated service despite the challenges we face. You have played a positive role in the development of higher education as well as the transformation process of this country,” he said.
As part of the highlights for the day, the Department of Performing Arts and film (PAF) and the Uganda Police Band gave energetic performances that saw some parents join them to dance in the Freedom Square.This was before the Chancellor’s Procession joined the Freedom Square to officially start the ceremony. Chancellor Prof. Mondo Kagonyera challenged the graduates to be relevant to society. “Today you graduate into a community faced with multiple opportunities and challenges. Your success or failure will depend on how you view the world before you. To a great extent your destiny lies squarely on your shoulders. When faced with challenges, quickly ask yourself how you can use your knowledge and skills to turn them into opportunities. Likewise, when you encounter opportunities, ask yourself how you can harness them to serve humanity at large and not just your own interests. Often people do not realize that service to others leads to personal satisfaction. I am happy and proud to note that Makerere University’s biggest contribution to the region and beyond has been the ability to produce key human resource to serve humanity both at political levels and in large corporations. Graduates of Makerere University have distinguished themselves in the business world,” he said.
The highly colourful 64th graduation ceremony is organized by the Makerere University Ceremonies Committee, under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Steven Nyanzi. Previous successful graduation ceremonies have been organized by the same committee. The ceremony kicked off yesterday, 28th Jan. 2014, with over 4,000 students from the College of Health Sciences (CHS), the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security (CoVAB) and the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) graduating.
By Marion Alina, Public Relations Office
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