Accept my compliments for the leadership shown by RUFORUM in proposing four priority responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought African countries and more broadly, the entire world to a ‘STOP’. Nations and nationals are calling for action and the requisite resources must be made available/ mobilised as well as the indicators for measuring success agreed on. I shall focus on RUFORUM priority response 3 “Reimagining higher education post COVID-19 …..” and priority response 4 “Nexus approaches for helping farmers… and transforming agri-food systems.”
Way back in 2004 we engaged in the multi-lateral, inter-governmental, multi-thematic, multi-sectoral “International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)”. Around the same time, Prof Calestous Juma (now deceased), in his capacity as Chair of the UN Millennium Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI): Innovation for Development began paying more attention to our work on mobilising African universities to address STI policy advice. Through our insistence, collective action and convincing arguments, the profile of tertiary education in addressing development challenges was duly recognised in the final UN STI Millennium report. The Task Force called for more dedicated resources for ensuring that young people (and women) could receive higher education. The evidence exists of the strides RUFORUM has made in both these areas.
The Office of the Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released the admission lists for Bachelor of Laws for the Academic Year 2025/2026.
Please note that the list includes Government Sponsorship for Bachelor of Laws i.e A-Level (Direct Entry), Bachelor of Laws-Day – (LAW) and Bachelor of Laws-Afternoon – (LAA)
Makerere University has received 700 digital tablets from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), aimed at enhancing statistical research, teaching, and data-driven decision-making across the institution.
The donation was made on June 30, 2025, as part of UBOS’ broader initiative to distribute a total of 3,025 tablets to ten government-funded institutions of higher learning. The handover ceremony was attended by Makerere’s Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi and Mr. Simon Kizito, the Deputy University Secretary among other Vice Chancellors and accounting officers.
Vice Chancellors from government-funded institutions of higher learning that received the donation of tablets from UBOS.
Dr. Allen Kabagenyi, a UBOS Board Director, who coordinated the distribution of the tablets to the respective 10 Public universities, underscored the significance of inter-institutional collaboration in fostering a data-literate and innovative generation. “This initiative is a testament to the power of partnerships between public institutions. In a country like Uganda, with one of the youngest populations globally, equipping our future leaders with the right tools is critical to achieving both national and global development goals,” she remarked.
The tablets had initially been procured and deployed during the recently concluded National Population and Housing Census. UBOS Executive Director Dr. Chris Mukiza explained that their redistribution marks the beginning of the Bureau’s post-census utilization strategy.
Dr. Chris Mukiza (L) flanked by his Board Director Dr. Allen Kabagenyi (R) addressing the meeting.
“We acquired 120,000 tablets to conduct the census, and as we committed earlier, we are ensuring that these resources continue to serve the country even after the census,” said Dr. Mukiza. “Our expectation is that these tablets will strengthen data collection, teaching, and research in universities and higher institutions. We want to see a culture where statistics are not only produced but also actively used to influence development outcomes.”
Dr. Mukiza encouraged academic institutions to take full advantage of the extensive data available at UBOS, emphasizing that greater use of statistical resources will translate into more impactful research and policy interventions.
Some of the accounting officers who attended the handover ceremony.
During the same event – cultural institutions also received tablets.
With this donation, Makerere University is well-positioned to further empower students and researchers in statistical analysis, evidence-based planning, and innovation-driven teaching.