General
Mak 69th Graduation Ends with Emphasis on Moral Integrity and Discipline
The curtains came down on the fourth and final session of the 69th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University held on Friday, 18th January 2019, after the Chancellor, Prof. Ezra Suruma conferred degrees and awarded diplomas to graduands from the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) and the School of Law (LAW). Notable among the graduands were; the former Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda Steven Kavuma; who graduated with a Degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies, Deputy Police Spokesperson, Polly Namaye; with a Degree of Master of Arts in Journalism and Communication, former Member of Parliament for Rubaga South Division Hon. John Ken Lukyamuzi; with the Bachelor of Laws and 14 pioneer students of the Master of Arts in Defence and Security Studies.
The Chancellor congratulated all graduands upon reaching the important milestone in their academic journey. He also thanked the leadership and staff of Makerere University for the great work in training the wide range of professionals in the humanities and social sciences, law, engineering, architecture, medicine, fine art and design.
“I am sure you will all agree with me that it takes a great deal of effort and time to train and graduate over 13,000 graduands including PhDs and Masters Degrees. You have done excellently to prepare these students,” said Prof Suruma.
He called upon staff, students and the entire community of Makerere to be of high moral integrity. According to Prof. Suruma, if the meaning and value of education is to endure, then the record of each and every student must be an accurate and a true reflection of his or her actual performance.
“It is simply unacceptable to compromise on the moral integrity of the university. Anyone who participates in any way in falsifying the academic records of the university is an enemy and must be treated as such,’ he said.
He urged students, parents, faculty, alumni, government, media and the public at large to fight all forms of fraud, falsification and immorality in the university.
“My late brother, Dr. Livingstone Byarugaba used to ask me: ‘Do you need a torch to see the sun?’ Now I beg to ask you my brothers and sisters, do we need to be reminded that every time we push for a false mark or grade for a child or student who is not qualified, we are hurting ourselves? Who benefits when we increase or multiply unqualified doctors, pharmacists, teachers, engineers and pilots in the society?” asked the Chancellor.
He appealed to every Ugandan to take a stand and fight for the good of the country when he said, “wherever you find yourself, take a stand for what is right. Be a candle in the darkness and save our country for our children and our grandchildren. Charity begins at home. Education without integrity will not protect you and it will not protect Uganda. It will continue to kill and the future will get worse. Once our enemies realize our internal weaknesses it will not take them long to destroy us.”
He applauded the Vice Chancellor, Management and the ceremonies committee for the successful preparations for the 69th Graduation Ceremony.
The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, reiterated the need for staff and students to observe discipline in the university. According to Prof Nawangwe, the biggest obstacle to Africa’s development is indiscipline of the country’s elite.
“I wish to thank H.E. the President, the First Lady and Hon. Minister of Education and Sports and the members of the public for their support of the measures taken by Council and Management to improve discipline among students and members of staff at Makerere University. No University can fully utilize her potential in an environment where indiscipline, abuse and impunity prevail,” he remarked.
To the graduands Prof. Nawangwe said, “as you leave the gates of Makerere University, remember that you are now on your own. You will succeed in life if you put a few ideals ahead of you. These are self-discipline, respect for self and others, love for your Country and love for God. The opportunities out there are immense, but only the disciplined will find them.”
He reminded graduands to take note of the President’s pledge to support organized groups of graduates with seed funding to start businesses. He also unveiled his idea of establishing a Makerere University Student Employment Liaison Desk in the Office of the Vice Chancellor. This Desk, he said, will coordinate employment opportunities for students within and outside the University.
“The Country is yearning for jobs for our young people and everybody will be looking at you to prove the worth of your education. With a Makerere degree, you have no right not to succeed. The World is yours for the taking and it is only you to deny yourself of the opportunities out there,” he said.
Article by: Mak Public Relations Office
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The College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) on Thursday 17th June, 2021 commenced celebrations to mark 50 Years of Veterinary Higher Education, Science, Technology, Innovation and Services (HESTIS) in Uganda. The blended event held at the Industrial Livestock Research, Incubation and Skilling (ILRIS) Center at Nakyesasa, Namulonge as well as online was presided over by the Chancellor, Prof. Ezra Suruma and First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports (MoES), Hon. Janet Museveni both represented by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe.
The event, held as part of Makerere University Centenary Celebrations (1922-2022) was a moment of celebration for 1,930 skilled livestock agribusiness entrepreneurs who were awarded certificates in recognition of completion of their respective courses. Owing to the strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) instituted by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to curb the spread of COVID-19, the students from Incubation Hubs in Atiak, Butaleja, Mubende, Nakyesasa, Sheema and Wakiso were awarded their certificates virtually.
In her remarks read by Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Hon. Janet Museveni thanked Makerere University for supporting grassroots level development through groundbreaking innovations under the Africa Institute for Strategic Services and Development-Skills for Production Enterprise Development and Accreditation (AFRISA-SPEDA) model.
“I am extremely pleased that Makerere University, through those innovative approaches, has developed and launched the alternative approach to building human capital and transferring knowledge to enterprises in communities.
“I would like to encourage all those involved in skills development to adopt methodologies that transform those trainees that go through these programs in ways that enable them also transform the societies they live in” read the Minister’s remarks.
She further noted that commissioning of the CoVAB@50 celebrations was both timely and rewarding. “The commissioning of the college innovations indeed has made meaning. This is a true path to growth of an Academic and Development College of the University, and we congratulate you again.”
Addressing the congregation as Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe congratulated CoVAB alumna and incoming Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) under the Office of the President, Dr. Monica Musenero upon her recent appointment. “We thank His Excellency the President for identifying you. Science is in good hands.”
Prof. Nawangwe urged Dr. Musenero to address the structures of managing research and innovation in Uganda, “including the role of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology and the apparent need to establish a Research Council for Uganda.”
In the same breath he thanked the outgoing and pioneer Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Dr. Elioda Tumuwesigye, for his role in ensuring that the ministry is empowered to carry out its mandate.
The Chancellor congratulated CoVAB upon training the bulk of Veterinary Doctors in Uganda over the last 50 years and more recently, Laboratory Technologists at the highest level. He recognised Makerere University‘s obligation to contribute to the economic self-determination of Uganda and thanked CoVAB for conducting research that addresses hindrances to national development, especially in the livestock industry.
“The anti-tick vaccine is one of such innovations which will solve the huge problem of tick-borne diseases that have caused enormous losses to our farmers. There are many other problems on which the college is researching and we thank you for the enthusiasm” he added.
The Chancellor commended CoVAB for being the vanguard of transformation of the grassroots communities through the SPEDA model. “I urge Government to fund this important initiative so that it can more meaningfully contribute to solving the big problem of youth unemployment.”
In her remarks, Dr. Monica Musenero commended the Principal, CoVAB, Prof. John David Kabasa for fulfilling the College’s dream of enabling the masses who drop out of the education value chain as well as those who complete education but have no skills for livelihood, to attain certification in agribusiness entrepreneurship.
“Many people attain academic success and write papers, publish and they become professors but without demonstrable impact on their nation. You have shown by the thousands that you have touched nationwide that indeed you are a professor of national transformation. Congratulations,” remarked Dr. Musenero.
She therefore congratulated the teams at CoVAB and AFRISA upon successfully conceiving and executing a model that is non-traditional, informal, not easily understood and not documented in any textbooks.
As Minister, Dr. Musenero noted that witnessing thousands of individuals from across the country whose skills had been honed through a university programme receiving certificates gave her a lot of hope and material to embark on her tenure with. “I will be looking forward to harnessing these resources as we initiate work on the next leg of Science, Technology and Innovation in the country under the President’s Office.”
The invitation to the Principal, CoVAB to present students for the award of the ordinary diplomas, ordinary certificates and artisan certificates was given by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Dr. Umar Kakumba. He congratulated the awardees upon successfully completing their respective courses and graduating with evidence on an enterprise.
Prof. Kabasa clarified that the approach used to train the day’s awardees was not simply a vocational skilling. “The combination of action research with knowledge transfer, skilling, plus assessment and accreditation processes done by organs like the DIT (Directorate of Industrial Training, MoES) has given us this result, for the University to provide true leadership and transformation of the community.”
Present at the celebrations were the Director, DIT, MoES-Mr. Byakatonda Patrick and the Deputy Commissioner Social Services Development, MoES Madam Elizabeth Bateme who have worked through the Academic-Community-Public-Private-Partnership model to ensure that students graduate as entrepreneurs with micro enterprises.
Prior to presiding over the ceremony, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, on behalf of the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports officially commissioned the SPEDA Training, Incubation and Research Centre – Nakyesasa.
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