Education
Over 1,300 Graduate from CEES during the 72nd Graduation
It was dance and jubilation as Makerere University on Tuesday 24th May 2022 awarded PhDs, masters, post graduate diplomas and degrees to 1,398 students of the College of Education and External Studies (CEES). The ceremony, on the second day of the 72nd graduation, saw five people awarded Doctor of Philosophy Degrees, 52 students received Masters degrees, 20 of whom were female while 66 students received post graduate Diplomas in various fields.
The college graduated 1,275 undergraduate students. The Bachelor of Medical Education has 28 male and 25 female students graduate, the Bachelor of Adult and Community Education had a total of 90 graduates (33 females and 57 male student). The Bachelor of Science with Education had 227 graduates (168 males and 59 females), the Bachelor of Education say 114 males and 91 female students graduate while the Bachelor of Arts with Education saw 700 students receive degrees, 216 of whom are male while 484 were female.
In his remarks, the Chancellor Makerere University, Prof. Ezra Suruma, congratulated the graduates upon this milestone and reminded the two graduating Colleges, the College of Education and External Studies and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, that agriculture and education sectors are the backbone of Uganda’s economy.
Prof. Suruma said the education sector needs drastic improvements in the performance of children in Universal Primary Education (UPE) in particular. Government has made a drastic achievement in declaring universal access to education: UPE in 1997 and USE in 2007, he said. “Children no longer have to walk 10 miles as I did to access primary education,” Prof. Suruma emphasized.
But the standard of education in UPE schools requires remarkable improvement, he remarked. For example, performance of UPE pupils in literacy and numeracy tests has been known to be as low as 50 percent nationally in some years. “We cannot as a country afford primary school graduates who cannot read and write nor count correctly.”
The Chancellor decried the high level of corruption in the country, saying we face a fundamental challenge as a nation to create, manage and maintain institutions that provide efficient and honest services to our people.
With the introduction of the parish model, the Chancellor said we all face a fundamental challenge as a nation to create, manage and maintain institutions that provide efficient and honest services to our people.
He advised the graduands to copy from their parents and sponsors the example of love they have showed them. “I pray that you will be active citizens, compassionate neighbors who seek to improve your communities, nation and the entire world. Initially, your focus is finding a job which is only appropriate; however, don’t lose sight of making impact on those that you meet wherever you go, he concluded. He asked the graduates to read 1Thessalonians 1:3 to guide them in their new paths.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University also congratulated the graduand and thanked them for their perseverance during the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns which greatly affected the education sector.
Prof. Nawangwe thanked the government of Uganda for the Shs30 billion that the government has committed to support research at Makerere University. “This fund has transformed Makerere. More than 700 grants have been allocated and more than 500 innovations recorded, many with potential for commercialization and a number of policy briefs have been developed,” Prof. Nawangwe said. Makerere, he said now boasts of the biggest research budget in Africa. “Our challenge now is transforming our research and Innovations into goods and services to fuel the economy”.
The university has over the years partnered with various organization and universities across the world. In the recent past, the university has partnered with universities in Somalia, South Sudan and Mozambique in an effort to help these partner universities grow their research capacity.
On infrastructure development, the VC highlighted the recently opened Dental School and Hospital, the central teaching facilities, the university wall and the ongoing reconstruction of the main building.
Prof. Nawangwe reminded the graduands and Parents of the 100 years that the university will be climaxing on October 8, 2022 and requested them to participate in these celebrations.
He asked the graduands to be the ambassadors of the university. “Go and put to good use the knowledge you have received from one of the best universities in the World to change your communities, your Country and humanity. Put your trust in God and honour your parents and opportunities will be opened for you,” he concluded.
At the end of the 5-day graduation, a total of 12,474 graduands will have received degrees and diplomas of Makerere University. Of these, 100 will graduate with PhDs, 1,236 with Masters degrees and 10,998 with Bachelors Degree and 140 with diplomas.
Makerere University has taken a significant step toward transforming its digital education landscape with the unveiling and stakeholder review of its Draft Master Plan for Open, Distance, and e-Learning (ODeL). The consultative workshop, held on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at Hotel Africana, brought together university leadership, academic staff, student representatives, and development partners to review the 10-year roadmap aimed at scaling access to quality, affordable, and inclusive education.
The workshop was officially opened by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Professor Buyinza Mukadasi, who represented the Vice Chancellor. In his remarks, Prof. Buyinza underscored the transformative potential of the KOICA-supported initiative.
“This project is a significant milestone in our journey to enhance the university’s capacity in ODeL,” he noted. “With support from the people of the Republic of Korea, KOICA’s grant will enable us to strengthen our ODeL infrastructure, develop high-quality digital content, and build staff capacity. This investment will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on our institution and the wider education sector in Uganda.”
Prof. Buyinza also paid tribute to the late Prof. Sung Seyeoung, the head of the Project Management Consultant team in Seoul, who passed away earlier this year, describing him as “a dedicated partner in this transformative journey.”
The project, which began in 2024, is being implemented with technical support from the Korea National Open University (KNOU) and the Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS). It focuses on three core components: development of a strategic and contextualized ODeL masterplan; capacity building for academic, administrative, and technical staff; and enhancement of ODeL infrastructure, including a new Learning Management System (LMS), Content Management System (CMS), ICT equipment, and the construction of a dedicated ODeL building.
Professor Henry Alinaitwe, the Project Investigator, emphasized the forward-looking nature of the initiative. “Through this masterplan, we are not only expanding access to higher education across Uganda and beyond, but also redefining how knowledge is delivered in the 21st century,” he said.
The workshop aimed to disseminate information about the masterplan, gather stakeholder feedback, and prepare the document for preliminary approvals by the University Senate and Council. The draft was developed by a joint task force composed of Ugandan and Korean experts, including representatives from KNOU, KDS, Makerere’s Institute of Open, Distance and e-Learning (IODel), and the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS).
Prof. Alinaitwe noted that all three project components are progressing steadily. Training sessions are underway both in Uganda and Korea, and the design for the Mak-ODeL building is currently 60% complete, with construction expected to commence later in the year.
The ODeL Master Plan (2025–2035) envisions Makerere as a regional hub for digital education. It outlines strategies to increase the number of accredited ODeL programmes, enhance ICT infrastructure, improve content development, and ensure that distance learners can access high-quality and flexible education through the university’s Moodle-based MUELE platform.
Speaking at the workshop, KOICA Country Director Ms. Ahn Jihee commended Makerere for its commitment to digital transformation. “We believe education is a powerful driver of national development, and we are proud to partner with Makerere University on this ambitious journey,” she said. “Our partnership is not just about technology, but about building resilient systems and empowered people who can shape the future.”
She also recognized the efforts of both Ugandan and Korean teams and encouraged continued dialogue and knowledge sharing.
Currently, only 8 of Makerere’s academic programmes are offered through ODeL. However, the university’s Strategic Plan (2020–2030) envisions a substantial increase in that number. The new masterplan draws from international best practices including models from KNOU, Hanoi Open University, and the Africa Virtual University.
Prof. Alinaitwe extended special thanks to KOICA and its Kampala-based experts Prof. Kim Hyunjoo and Mr. Kim Kihun for their ongoing support, and acknowledged the contributions of the Makerere team—Prof. Paul Muyinda, Dr. Godfrey Mayende, Dr. Harriet Nabushawo, Dr. Richard Kajumbula, Mr. Samuel Mugabi, and Co-PI Dr. Venny Nakazibwe.
“We are laying the foundation for a future where Makerere University can provide education that is not just accessible, but also adaptable to the needs of learners wherever they may be,” he concluded.
The masterplan, once finalized and approved, is expected to usher in a new era of blended, learner-centered education that meets both local and global demands.
In his closing remarks, Professor Anthony Mugagga, who represented the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration), applauded participants for their insightful engagement. He emphasized the need for academic units to take ownership of ODeL implementation.
“The future of education is blended and borderless,” Prof. Mugagga said. “We must collectively embrace this shift—not just through policy, but through action: by developing new programmes, supporting learners, and investing in infrastructure that will carry us into the next generation of higher education.”
He also expressed appreciation to KOICA for its continued support and funding, which he said is helping to shape a more resilient and inclusive education system for Uganda and the region.
By Eutychus Ngotho Gichuru
The escalating fight between veteran US President Donald Trump and the powerful American institutions like Harvard University is politics, it’s bare-faced incursion into intellectual freedom that can reshape the international world of higher education, particularly for Africans. The latest “scandal,” Trump’s combative condemnation of colleges as liberal ideological hotbeds, amplified by legal intimidation and political retaliation against colleges like Harvard, is damaging America’s international reputation as the academic gold standard. Unless the trend continues, African scholars have long regarded American colleges as embodiments of intellectual liberty will seek further afield, such as China’s Tsinghua University, and redefine the landscape of scholarship.
Trump himself, bloated-check on his 2024 campaign and beyond, denounces elite universities as “woke” indoctrination centers. Demands to defund universities, ideological segregation, and laser-beam focus on diversity programs have chilled the atmosphere. Harvard, already on trial for affirmative action and accused of suppressing conservative thinking, is under greater scrutiny than ever. The Trump-endorsed Supreme Court win in 2023 over the case against racially discriminatory admissions, as a triumph for Trump and his faithful, has been exerting political pressure on institutions to fall in line. Politicization is destroying the very essence of intellectual freedom: freedom to pursue truth through means of open-ended inquiry, unhampered by interference.
For African students, it is shattering the American academic dream. America has been the preferred destination of African Muslims for many years, with 400,000 or more African students enrolled in American universities by 2023. Harvard stands for hope, intellectual activism, and interdependence worldwide. But when academic freedom is attacked, either in Muslim nations by executive fiat or group demonization, students question the system. The image of American universities as payoff politics centers rather than temples of knowledge is a great discourager.
Take the case of China, which has placed its universities at the world map. Tsinghua University, affectionately referred to as “China’s MIT,” features among the top 20 universities in the world with state-of-the-art research in AI, engineering, and global governance. China’s Belt and Road initiative has already prompted scholarship collaborations with Africa, awarding more than 50,000 African students scholarship annually. China provides an open alternative to America, in which political anti-foreigner prejudice and visa controls have tightened but in which Tsinghua’s insistence upon technical discipline and non-Western-inspired political scandal-mongering offers a sanctuary to those denied security and possibility.
Life for African students is a game. If the shine fades from American campuses, Nigerian, Kenyan, or Ghanaian students may be lured by the more appealing prospect of subsidized campuses and meritocratic competition culture of Tsinghua. Chinese universities, though not inexpensive, are another deal: intellectual seriousness untainted by ideational competition distorting American campuses. To Africans bureaucratically and financially strained in America, China’s streamlined visa process and subsidized schooling are appealing. Tsinghua welcomed 20% more African applicants in 2024, and the figures can only go up if America’s learning environment deteriorates.
This has far-reaching implications. Chinese-educated Africans will increasingly adopt the Beijing approach to geopolitics, enhancing China’s soft power in Africa. America will lose the intellectual and cultural capital that it has gained through decades of exportation of Africa’s best and brightest for studies in its institutions. Harvard-educated African leaders have led the innovation and governance driver in the continent; a transition to Tsinghua would funnel those networks into China’s quarter. In order to ensure academic freedom and global competitiveness, America should not politicize its colleges and universities. Institutional autonomy must be upheld by academics and legislative members in a situation where scholarship, rather than ideology, is the basis of higher education. For the students from Africa, the consequence is ominous: college selection not only determines their future but that of the continent. And if the Trump-Harvard soap opera continues chewing away at American scholarship’s trust factor, Tsinghua’s gates will swing wider and wider, and Africa’s best and brightest will walk through them with the U.S. in their rearview mirror.
About the Author
-
General6 days agoMirror Frank Kalimuzo’s life of service-MUBS Principal
-
Research1 week agoMak and MSU Host Landmark Symposium on Insects for Food, Feed, and Food Security in Africa
-
General1 week agoIsraeli Ambassador Lotem Talks Innovation on Farewell Visit
-
Business & Management2 weeks agoGAMSU Training Workshop Urges CoBAMS academic staff to embrace grant writing
-
General1 week agoDirectorate of Graduate Training Rolls out Research Management Information Sytems (RIMS)