This evening, Wednesday 11th December, 2019 at the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Hunan Province of China, Mr. Alex Kakooza, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Sports has signed an agreement of cooperation in the area of higher and vocational education with the Deputy Director of Hunan Department of Education. The agreement paves the way for student and academic staff exchange between Uganda and Hunan. Under the agreement Ugandan students will get scholarships for masters and PhD in various disciplines at the more than 100 universities in Hunan. There will also be exchange of academic staff between Ugandan universities and universities in Hunan.

During the signing ceremony, Mr. Kakooza briefed his hosts about the education system in Uganda and the urgent need to support the Government’s strategy of promoting vocational education. The Hunan team informed the Ugandan delegation that Hunan has made advances in vocational education, especially in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. They added that Hunan was ready to share their experiences with Uganda. The two delegations expressed appreciation for the strides made by the Confucius Institute at Makerere University and pledged continued support to the Institute.

The Ugandan delegation included the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Director of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University, Dr. Gilbert Gumoshabe and the Communication Officer of Makerere University, Mr. Mathias Ssemanda.