The 71st Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University got off to a lively start on Monday 17th May 2021 with the blessing of wonderful weather. The five-day first of its kind Blended Graduation Ceremony, slated to end on Friday 21st May 2021 will be conducted following Government guidelines against the spread of COVID-19.

The first session featured graduands from the College of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) and School of Law. The Chancellor, Prof. Ezra Suruma awarded the prestigious Honorary Doctor of Science of Makerere University to two distinguished personalities namely; Dr. Hannah Akuffo and Dr. Seth Franklin Berkley. The Orators for Dr. Akuffo’s and Dr. Berkley’s Honorary Doctorate awards were Prof. Moses Joloba and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze respectively.

The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet K. Museveni represented by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Hon. Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo was the Guest of Honour. In her remarks the honourable Minister commended higher education institutions for quickly adapting the Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) model, which enabled candidates complete their training and final examinations.

“Today, the Universities have demonstrated that we can use the power of technology to keep teaching, examining and graduating students, and I thank you. Moving forward, Government will continue to invest in ICT infrastructure and make this technology affordable so that students at higher institutions of learning are able to continue without disruption and can even make distance learning their choice” commended the Minister.

The Guest of Honour in her congratulatory message urged the graduands to surround themselves with people who wish them well as they transition into service to community. She urged them to go out and diligently serve their country, encouraged by the words of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 11.

“Therefore, always remember that life is a marathon, not a sprint. Be humble. Do not boast in your own strength or wisdom or understanding or talent or academic excellence. Instead, choose, with patience and hard work to trust in God’s timing for your life. It is always perfect.”

Please see Downloads for the full speeches and Orators’ citations.

The recording of Live proceedings from the First Session may be accessed by clicking the embedded video below