General
VC Interacts With AR Staff to Enhance Service Delivery
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe on Friday, 10th May 2019 briefly interacted with staff from the Academic Registrar (AR)’s Department led by the Academic Registrar, Mr. Alfred Masikye Namoah. The interface was aimed at enhancing service delivery to students, alumni and members of the public.
"You are doing a commendable job, but I would like you to do more. We are here to interact and come up with some new ideas in a bid to serve the students, alumni, staff and other stakeholders better," said the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe.
The meeting that started at 2:30pm in the Main Building Council Room was attended by staff from Makerere University Public Relations Office and staff working in the following Divisions in the AR's Department: Central office; Examinations and Transcripts; Certificates, Ceremonies and Publications; Undergraduate Admissions and Records.
The Vice Chancellor in his brief address also reiterated the importance of the AR Department in building a positive image of the University.
"The Department of the Academic Registrar is very central in the operations of the University. Your service that involves managing academic records is key in building and protecting the image of the University. So, the way you serve the students, alumni, staff and stakeholders is very critical in maintaining a good image of the University," emphasised the Vice Chancellor.
"You have made major strides in improving the operations of the University. In your service to students, alumni, staff and other stakeholders, please go the extra mile to be courteous, professional, record complaints from students, alumni and stakeholders, and put in place a system to track records as well as information received," said the Vice Chancellor.
On behalf of the team, the Academic Registrar, Mr. Alfred Masikye Namoah commended the Vice Chancellor for initiating the interaction. "We have goodwill from the Vice Chancellor. He ensured that the Department recruited staff who have been designated to serve in the respective Divisions and Colleges and that the Transcripts Office acquires computers. I equally encourage my colleagues to go the extra mile to improve service delivery," said the Academic Registrar.
Mr. Masikye Namoah reported that through the recruitment drive, substantive Registrars have now been positioned at both College and School levels. He further highlighted the following as strategies aimed at enhancing service delivery:
i) Beefing up the number of staff in the Transcripts office. These are now scheduled to undertake training on uploading results into the system
ii) The newly-recruited have been inducted and sensitized on their roles and responsibilities
iii) Initiated consultations to decentralise submission of clearance forms to College level
In line with improving service delivery, the Deputy Registrar (Examinations and Transcripts), Mr. Tom Otim informed the meeting that on 24th March 2019, he issued a notice requesting graduates whose transcripts for one reason or the other are yet to be issued to report such matters directly to his office in Room 512, Level 5, Senate Building.
To further improve records keeping and management, the Deputy Registrar (Undergraduate Admissions and Records Division), Mr. Charles Ssentongo, requested for a special consideration of recruitment of at least two (2) additional members of staff to serve in the Records Office. "The workload specific to academic files and management of records remains enormous. We therefore request for additional recruitment of at least two (2) members of staff in the Records Office."
The Principal Public Relations Officer, Ms. Ritah Namisango used the same opportunity to emphasise the importance of upholding excellent customer care when handling students, alumni, staff and other stakeholders.
"Excellent customer care and timely delivery of services to students, alumni, staff and other stakeholders significantly impacts on the reputation of the University. Therefore, each and every one of us has a stake in building the corporate image of this great institution" remarked Ms Namisango.
Wrapping up the meeting, the Vice Chancellor pledged to continue the discussion on service delivery by holding a follow-up meeting with AR Department Staff at their home in the Senate Building.
Article by Public Relations Office
Makerere University has officially launched its Strategic Plan 2025-2030, marking a major milestone in its commitment to strengthening research, innovation, and human capital development in line with Uganda’s national development priorities.
The launch brought together senior government officials, university leadership, and development planners, including the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, and a representative from the National Planning Authority (NPA), alongside the University Vice Chancellor.
A Vision Anchored in National Transformation
Speaking at the launch, the Vice Chancellor underscored the University’s ambition to significantly expand graduate training and strengthen its contribution to national development. He noted that the institution is targeting a return to pre-COVID enrolment levels and a substantial increase in postgraduate numbers by 2030, with a focus on producing highly skilled graduates, innovators, and researchers.
He emphasized that the Strategic Plan positions the University as a key driver of Uganda’s transformation through knowledge generation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, aligned with national priorities.
“The staffing distribution is shown here. Under the approved establishment, we intended to have 419 Professors, but we currently have only 75. We planned for 473 Associate Professors, but currently have only 144. This clearly demonstrates that we still have considerable room for growth in strengthening our academic staff profile,” the VC said.
The VC appreciated researchers and research centres, that continue to attract substantial research funding. He highlighted the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Makerere University Walter Reed Project which attracted approximately US$70 million in international research funding into Uganda.
“When you combine the grants won by all our researchers through competitive international funding, the total exceeds US$200 million,” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairperson of the University Council, Dr. Lorna Magara, described the Strategic Plan as more than an institutional roadmap, calling it “a public covenant with the people of Uganda.”
She noted that the Plan marks “the launch of Makerere University’s next chapter,” adding that decisions taken over the next five years will shape not only the future of the institution, but also Uganda’s development trajectory through graduates, research, innovations, and leadership.
Dr. Magara emphasized Makerere’s unique national role as Uganda’s premier public university, entrusted with public resources and public confidence.
“Every investment made in Makerere must produce measurable value for the people of Uganda,” she said, underscoring the need for accountability, integrity, and impact.
Ambitious Targets for Transformation
The Council Chairperson and the Vice chancellor outlined bold performance targets under the Strategic Plan, including doubling postgraduate enrolment, increasing STEM enrolment from 30% to 55%, improving PhD completion rates from 10% to 35%, and more than doubling peer-reviewed research output, alongside a significant rise in patents and innovations.
Dr. Magara stressed that these targets are not aspirations alone but binding commitments against which institutional performance will be measured.
“Ambition is precisely what this moment demands. A strategic plan is not measured by the elegance of its language, but by the lives it transforms,” she said.
Call for Stronger Governance and Legal Reform
Dr. Magara also highlighted the need for reform of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, Cap. 262, noting that the current legal framework has not kept pace with the evolving realities of university governance and innovation.
She called on Government and Parliament to support a timely review of the Act to enable universities to better optimise knowledge systems, productive assets, and innovation capacity in support of national development.
Government Endorsement and Strategic Alignment
Hon. Henry Musasizi commended the University for developing a forward-looking Strategic Plan aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which serves as the foundation for the country’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
He explained that Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy from about USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion requires accelerated growth driven by productivity gains, innovation, and strong human capital development.
“Universities are central actors in national transformation. They are engines of knowledge creation, innovation, and human capital development,” he said.
The Minister stressed that government priorities include strengthening research, promoting industrialization, and ensuring that knowledge generated in universities is translated into practical solutions that support economic growth. He further highlighted the importance of accountability, efficiency, and value for money in public investments in higher education.
Universities as Drivers of the Tenfold Growth Strategy
In his presentation, the Senior Planner at the National Planning Authority, Samuel Kasule, emphasized that the Strategic Plan is firmly anchored in Uganda’s comprehensive development framework under Vision 2040 and NDP IV.
He noted that the Tenfold Growth Strategy seeks to accelerate Uganda’s economic growth into double-digit territory, enabling the country to achieve structural transformation and reach upper middle-income status.
Kasule underscored that universities play a critical role in this transformation through labour productivity, research, and innovation. He pointed out that priority sectors such as agriculture, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and ICT depend heavily on skilled graduates and strong research ecosystems.
He also highlighted the importance of competency-based education, alignment of academic programmes with national human resource needs, and strengthening postgraduate training and research outputs.
A Shared Commitment to Transformation
Across all speeches, a strong message emerged: universities are central to Uganda’s development agenda and must evolve into research-intensive institutions that directly contribute to economic transformation.
The Strategic Plan 2025-2030 was widely commended for its focus on innovation, industry collaboration, digital transformation, and the commercialization of research outputs.
Government leaders reaffirmed continued support for higher education institutions through research funding, innovation ecosystems, and strengthened university–industry partnerships.
Conclusion
The launch of the Strategic Plan 2030 signals a renewed commitment to positioning the University as a key partner in Uganda’s development journey. With strong alignment to national priorities, the Plan is expected to accelerate research, innovation, and skills development necessary for achieving Uganda’s long-term economic ambitions. The Strategic Plan may be accessed at: https://mak.ac.ug/about/strategic-plan
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