The launch of Staff and Student Attendance Management System presided over by the Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara on Friday 3^rd May 2024 has been heralded as a moment of truth for the Council, Management, Staff, Students and Stakeholders of Makerere University. On Council’s part that includes improved performance management, accountability, and a transparent promotion process, while for Management it signifies a milestone in terms of achieving a professionally governed university and guaranteeing academic freedom. For staff and students it means improved monitoring and evaluation of teaching, learning and research activities, and for the Government and people of Uganda, clear accountability for the over UGX 200 billion annual wage bill.

In her remarks, Mrs. Magara took time off to allay fears that the system has been designed as a policing tool, stating that the University Council had carefully considered the multifaceted roles that staff, especially faculty, engage in both on and off-campus. The Council, she said, had therefore provided clear guidance to Management on allowances and authorisations that must be in place to enable faculty fulfil their functions.

She added that the decentralised collegiate system already caters for the direct supervision of faculty, while a similar devolved architecture applies to administrative and support staff. “So as we embrace this biometric system, I invite you to recognize the collective benefit it brings to Makerere University.”

These benefits, noted the Chairperson of Council, include; improved service delivery for faculty, students and the administration, improved institutional ratings, as well as improved visibility and credibility for the system developers. She further noted that the attendance management system is only a fraction of the more comprehensive and holistic approach that the University Council is undertaking to strengthen performance management.

“In the current and future budgeting and other resource allocation processes, the Council prioritizes the acquisition of tools that enable the staff to perform and the students to learn effectively and in a conducive manner. For example, I am aware that the procurement processes for three buses for transporting students for field practicals has already been completed.

“The renovation of Lumumba Hall is nearing completion and Mary Stuart Hall will follow in line. There is increasing emphasis on research labs, teaching materials and related equipment. As part of our infrastructure development focus, the Council also addresses the need for faculty offices, graduate student centres, IT hardware and software for teaching and research” Mrs. Magara explained, concluding by requesting all staff and students to embrace the system.

In line with embracing the system, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe noted that the advent of the system should be received with happiness by all staff and students. “We must run our university professionally and the best way to do it is by going digital in every way possible.”

He added that Makerere has in addition to attendance management digitalised other activities such as human resources management, data repository, academic records and processes, research management, and prayed all business processes would have been completed by the end of 2024. The Vice Chancellor reiterated that the attendance management system’s implementation framework had been enriched by the input from staff representatives to cater for all teaching modes, including eLearning.

Prof. Nawangwe further emphasised that the system is in no way designed to curtail academic freedom, but rather promote it through proper accountability for time spent at the workplace. “The Council as our employer ought to know whether the person that is employed is doing their job.”

He therefore thanked the Director, Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS), Mr. Samuel Mugabi and his staff for alleviating the need for Makerere to rely on expensive, externally-sourced systems. “Since we realized the resources that we have in-house, the digitalisation of the university has just gone up.”

The Director Human Resources (HR), Mr. Tayari Deus Mujuni on his part thanked the University Council for ensuring that development of the system was funded, Management for ensuring that the system is implemented, and the Director DICTS for ensuring that the system is developed and delivered on time.

One of the deliverables of the system will be human resource analytics. Mr. Mujuni commended this output as a quick way to measure whether staff are delivering according to their mandate. “If we continually generate these analytics, it becomes easy for us to know the teaching load, to follow up on requests for staff appointments in terms of how many staff you have and how many staff you need.”

The Director HR further noted that the system will come in handy in providing accountability to Government in terms of staff and students being taught. “The audit query will not arise again because we will have the evidence of all staff in attendance and account the funds that Government has contributed in terms of wage.”

Presenting the system’s architecture, Mr. Samuel Mugabi said it consists of biometric devices to enable staff clock in/out using their thumb-print or facial-image. For those who may for any reason or impairment not be able to reach the height of the biometric devices, an AI-enabled voice-recognition capability is being explored for future deployment.

He added that for teaching staff, a student attendance management system has been developed and integrated with both Academic Management Information System (ACMIS) and the electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS). This will enable students to register class attendance by selecting their time-tabled course, lecturer’s name, and submit their attendance register. The system will register GPS coordinates of teaching venues and any registration done using a mobile-based app on a device that is not within range will not be recorded.

Mr. Mugabi nevertheless appreciated that cultural transformation is very important for the system to succeed. “We cannot transform or automate a process until we appreciate why it is important,” adding that the way system users are brought on board is very important for their adoption and use.

The launch event was proudly by the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), which prides itself in conducting high-quality research and educating the next cadre of leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, skilled labor force, digital innovators, wealth creators, and young scientists. Addressing his audience the Principal Prof. Tonny Oyana noted that CoCIS, by virtue of its mandate, will remain a very important college, especially in the next 20 – 30 years as the digital revolution unfolds. “We are at the forefront of deliberations anywhere in this university.”

He recognised the presence of the Chairperson of Council, Members of Council, Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Members of Management, College Principals, Staff and Students who graced the event.

H.E. Vincent Lubega Nsamba was on 18^th March 2024 sworn in as the 90^th Guild President of Makerere University and effectively, leader of the Guild Cabinet and student body. Represented by his Minister for Information, Research and Computer Technology, Hon. Emojong Kisaija Harman at the launch, the Guild President welcomed the system, given the necessity of adopting of ICT in the digital era.

“We as the Students Guild are optimistic that this initiative and the system being launched today will improve service delivery to students with regard to teaching” appreciated Hon. Emojong. He reassured the University Leadership of the Students Guild’s readiness to participate in the system rollout and willingness to raise awareness among the student body of its benefits.

Higher Powers: Alcohol and After in Uganda’s capital city, a collaborative literary work on alcohol addiction and treatment giving the Ugandan context authored by Ugandan researchers Sarah Namirembe and George Mpanga, together with University of Virginia (UVA)’s Associate Professor China Scherz was officially launched on Friday 26^th April 2024. The event was held in the Conference Hall of the School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering at Makerere University.

The convener, Henry Nsubuga, the Manager of the Counselling and Guidance Centre at Makerere University thanked the authors of the book for conducting research and bringing to the scholarly and practice world another perspective to treating those with alcohol use disorder (AUD). 

The book, a result of over four years of dedicated research, discusses therapeutic pathways to alcohol addiction recovery in Uganda, detailing how some victims mainly in Kampala have used these methods to completely recover from the vice.

According to George Mpanga one of the authors, “most of the work took place in Uganda’s capital city Kampala; given the number and variety of options, including the country’s two major rehabilitation programmes. Kampala provided us with an excellent location for exploring a range of treatment modalities available in Uganda.”

Higher Powers mainly focuses on four recovery approaches: Biological, Social, Clinical, and religious approaches. Under the religious approach, the authors write that some addicts find healing in church while others in the traditional shrines or through herbal medicines.

Assoc. Prof. China Scherz says through collaboration, they are bringing insights from Uganda and other parts of Africa about the ethics of interdependence into a rapidly expanding conversation about the need for more collaborative forms  and logical practice. She says collaborative writing has helped them come up with a book none would solely produce.

“We are bringing insights from Uganda and elsewhere in Africa, about the ethics of interdependence into a rapidly expanding conversation about the need for more collaborative forms and logical practice. And in the process, hoping to transform a long history of important but often invisible contributions made by assistants and translators, Pan Africanist anthropology, this process of writing together across a wide range of sites has ultimately transformed the project into something that none of us could have created independently of one another,” she said.

The book was launched by Dr. Hafsa Lukwata, the Assistant Commissioner for Health Mental Health and Center of Substance Abuse at the Ministry of Health, who the  Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine.

Dr. Lukwata thanked the authors of the book and all participants who accepted to be respondents during the research. She said the government of Uganda is tirelessly pushing for the alcohol control bill to mitigate alcohol misuse, and urged everyone to be part of the cause so that the bill is passed.

Prof. Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, from the School of Public Health, said the book is rich with many educating stories and urged everyone to grab a copy and make good use of it.

“This work is very good and it has so many enriching stories. There are many things you can learn from this book and I wish everyone reads it,” he said.

Dr. David Basangwa, former head at Butabika Hospital Alcohol and Drug Unit said the title of the book was well selected and it contains a lot of meaning, especially in dealing with various challenges in life.

“The title given to this book: Higher Powers, I find it very interesting and well selected with a lot of meaning, especially when it comes to dealing with various challenges in life,” he said.

Basangwa noted that there is a need to deal with stigmatisation among alcohol addicts, pointing out language euphemisms as one of the best approaches. He said alcohol addicts feel more comfortable being called patients with alcoholic use disorders, but not alcohol or drug addicts.

The book launch was attended by policy makers, treatment specialists, people who have recovered from alcohol use disorder, members of Makerere University academic staff, and students.

Through an access contract with the University of California, a PDF version of the book has been availed at no cost.

To obtain a complimentary PDF copy, please click on the link provided below.

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520396791/higher-powers.

The Academic Registrar Makerere University invites applications for the Special University Entry Examinations for admission to the Diploma in Performing Arts.

The examination will take place on Saturday 18^th May, 2024.

Application process is online for those intending to sit the examination. Kindly note that there is payment of a non-refundable application fee of Shs. 110,000/- excluding bank charges in any (Stanbic Bank Branch, Dfcu Post Bank, UBA and Centenary Bank). The application fees includes 2 Past Papers availed to you on completion of the online process.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO SIT THE EXAMINATIONS, THE CANDIDATE MUST POSSESS AN O’LEVEL CERTIFICATE (UCE) WITH AT LEAST 5 PASSES.

The deadline for receiving the online applications is Thursday 16^th May 2024.

How to Apply

• Application is online for ALL applicants.
• Other relevant information can be obtained from Undergraduate Mature Age Office, Level 5 Senate Building, Makerere University or can be acceessed from https://see.mak.ac.ug
• A non refundable application fee of Shs. 110,000= for Ugandans, Easte Africans Applicants. Or US $ 75 or equivalent for internationalapplicants plus bank charges should be paid in any of the banks used by Uganda Revenue Authority.
• Apply through the application portal https://see.mak.ac.ug

Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza

ACADEMIC REGISTRAR