Education
Gone but still lives on: Makerere University celebrates Prof. Kajubi’s legacy
Professor William Senteza Kajubi, the first African to receive a Fulbright scholarship in 1952 and a renowned educationist who diversified and chaired a committee to review Uganda’s Curriculum in 1990 was remembered and celebrated by Makerere University College of Education and External studies (CEES) in a public lecture that happened on 22nd September 2022 at the Yusuf Lule teaching facility Auditorium at Makerere University.
The ceremony themed “Internationalization of Higher Education in the next Century” presided over by the United States’s Ambassador to Uganda Her Excellency Natalie Brown brought together many academicians, educationists and students across the world to celebrate the life and achievements of the person of Professor William Senteza Kajubi. In attendance were Vice Chancellors from Ugandan universities e.g. Soroti, Muni, Bishop Stuart, Bugema, Ndejje and Busitema.
Besides remembering the life of Prof. Kajubi, this public lecture also happened to be marking the Makerere University’s 100 year anniversary, Uganda’s 60 years of independence and its fruitful relationship with the United States that has paved way for the Fulbright Scholarship program and many other partnerships that have impacted lives of Ugandans.
While addressing the congregation, the Principal College of Education and External Studies (CEES) Professor Anthony Mugagga hailed Professor Kajubi for the 1989 report on Education which the National Resistance Movement government incorporated into its 10-point program.
“In 1954 when Pope Leo the 10th appointed Ben Kiwanuka as the first African Bishop, he cautioned him to be successful so that he can inspire more African theologians. Kajubi never got lost in the States, neither did he do drugs but he clang to studies and paved way for other scholars of the Fulbright Scholarship program,” added Professor Mugagga who concluded his remarks cautioning the congregation to emulate Prof. Kajubi, and also thanked all staff who participated in seeing this event a success.
On behalf of the Senteza Kajubi family, his son Wasswa Kajubi expressed their deepest gratitude and honor to Makerere University and CEES administration for always remembering their loved one even when he passed on long time ago.
The Chairperson Makerere University Council Mrs.Lorna Magara highlighted how the Late Prof. Kajubi’s life symbolized hard work, persistence and courage to pursue excellence and greatness. She added that Prof. Kajubi’s passion for education at Makerere and the University of Chicago resulted into a lot of phenomenal education reforms that saw admission of private sponsored students to Makerere.
“Prof. Sentenza Kajubi’s life symbolized hard work, passion for the profession,
creativity, innovation, and courage to pursue and carry out a vision”. This hard work ethic, Mrs. Magara informed the gathering, was reinforced daily by a family motto in the Kajubi sitting room, “OMULIMU LYE LINNYA LY’OMUNTU,” which may be translated as ONE’S WORK IS ONE’S NAME.
The late Prof. Kajubi’s passion and pursuit for knowledge can be traced through his education journey, from Mengo Junior Secondary school to Kings College Budo, to Makerere University, and on to the University of Chicago on a Fulbright Scholarship graduating with an MSC. with a concentration in Geography. Upon return, he embraced the privilege and honor of serving as a teacher, and Administrator. His dedicated service saw him rise through the ranks to serve as Director, National Institute of Education (1964- 1977) and twice as Vice Chancellor, Makerere University (1977-1979; 1990-1993).
Her Excellency Natalie Brown the United States Ambassador to Uganda said,” Professor Kajubi is a shining star among Fulbright alumni, in Uganda and beyond. He traveled to the U.S. in 1952 as a Fulbright student to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Chicago. He returned to make great contributions to the education sector in Uganda and the region. His two-time tenure appointments at the helm of this university demonstrate his outstanding leadership ability”. Professor Kajubi did not limit himself to education alone, he went on to serve as a delegate to Uganda’s Constituent Assembly which created the new constitution in 1995, among other things. His legacy of service to his country remains an inspiration to generations of faculty and students alike”.
Ms. Brown said the US Mission in Uganda are proud to manage the Fulbright program in Uganda where 12 Ugandan Fulbright grantees were sent this year to academic programs for Masters, PhD and research in the United States, and in exchange Uganda welcomed nine U.S. Fulbrighters to conduct research.
Makerere University and the people of America have had great partnerships that have seen America’s public Health enthusiasts and other specialists come to Uganda to conduct research. They include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and so many others.
The keynote speaker of the day and the Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Michael Pippenger challenged African Universities to ensure solidarity, commitment and transparency if they actually want to internationalize since it not only helps them realize weaknesses, strengths and potential areas of collaboration but also builds transformative and global minded students.
“It is not the MOUs and agreements we sign that show internationalization, but rather the work we do while together on ending pandemics, fostering rule of law and other community impactful engagements. Surprisingly Prof Kajubi knew all this”. Concluded Dr. Pippenger who urged universities to stick to their visions and missions which should reflect on the communities they serve.
Prof. William Senteza Kajubi served as the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University at two different intervals 1977 – 1979 and 1990 – 1993. He was also a member of the constitutional Assembly that drafted Uganda’s constitution of 1995. He devoted his life to Academics and impacting communities until his death on May 1st, 2012.
Background
Prof. Senteza Kajubi was born in 1926, in Singo county (modern day Mityana District), to Yoweri Bugonzi Kajubi and Bulanina Namukomya. His family later moved closer to the capital and settled in Busega, a suburb in the outskirts of Kampala, where he began his long journey with, or rather in, education at the Mackay Memorial Primary School in 1933. He then attended Mengo Junior School from 1941 to 1943 before transferring to King’s College Budo for his Advanced Level, finally making it to Makerere College in 1947 where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma in Education.
Shortly after he graduated, Prof. Kajubi taught at Kako Junior Secondary School before going to the University of Chicago for a Master of Science in Geography. Later, in 1955, he went back to his alma mater, King’s College Budo, and taught Geography. It was during this period that he taught other notable personalities in Uganda’s history such as Mathew Rukikaire and Prof. Apolo Nsibambi in a predominantly white environment. The only other native teachers at Budo, then, were the Deputy Headteacher, Mr. Sempebwa and Erisa Kironde, an English language teacher.
As one of the few Protestant members of a predominantly Catholic Democratic party (DP), Senteza Kajubi was a member of the National Symbols Committee which was tasked with selecting the national anthem, flag and coat of arms.
His political acumen propelled him to chair a number of government boards over the years until he directly participated in electoral politics in 1994 as a delegate of the Constituent Assembly representing Kyadondo North.
Two years after Uganda got independence, now a lecturer at Makerere University, Prof. Senteza was appointed the Director of National Institute of Education. He served there until 1977 when he became Vice Chancellor for the first time.
Education Policy Formation in Uganda
As the Secretary General of the Uganda Teachers’ Association from 1959 to 1962, Prof. Senteza Kajubi was a member of the famed Castle Commission on Uganda’s post-independence education policy framework.
Instituted and appointed in January 1963, the Castle Commission had been tasked with examining the content and structure of education in Uganda in light of the approved recommendations of the International Bank Survey Mission Report, Uganda’s financial position and its future manpower requirement.
In the execution of its mandate, the commission dealt with a dilemma; if the formulated policy disproportionately focused on universal primary education and adult literacy while neglecting secondary, tertiary and higher education, it would fail to produce high level manpower which was required to staff government and teach in schools. However, on the other hand, the country did not have the resources to make improvements across the board and had to prioritise one option to the detriment of the other.
Since Makerere was still under the University of East Africa and higher education was still an inter-territorial responsibility, the commission instead focused on prioritising teacher-training, expanding secondary school enrolment and improving relevance, quality and access of primary education in remote areas.
In 1977, during his first tenure as the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Kajubi went on to chair the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) which was appointed by Idi Amin’s Minister of Education, Brig. Barnabas Kili.
Owing to the political climate at the time, the education system was facing even dire problems. The gross human rights violations had led to a mass exodus of highly qualified professionals from civil service, teachers and university faculty into exile. Imploding diplomatic relations rendered external assistance with regard to education inexistent and the government had to deal with shortages from personnel to instructional material.
Prof. Senteza Kajubi was then tasked with the responsibility of leading an effort to circumvent some of these challenges and therefore keeping the education system in Uganda alive. Unfortunately, the findings and recommendations of the report, from its members and constituent sub-committees were overtaken by events in 1979 when war broke out and the Idi Amin regime was overthrown. The report was shelved and never formally presented to cabinet.
In 1987, after the ascendancy of the NRM government into power, another commission, once again headed by Prof. Senteza Kajubi, was appointed. Still under similarly unique circumstances, this commission too had to work within the socio-economic confines of a post-war society riddled with scarcity of resources. Eighteen months later, the commission’s report was produced in January 1989.
The most notable outcome of this committee report was a government white paper which brought to life the famous Universal Primary Education. This recommendation alone, for all its limitations, has contributed significantly to literacy levels in Uganda and to the education system as a whole.
After chairing the second Kajubi commission, he then became the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University for the second time, from 1990 to 1993, preceded by Prof. George Kirya and succeeded by Prof. John Ssebuwufu.
The Fulbright Program
In 1952, Prof. Senteza went on to the University of Chicago, on a Fulbright Scholarship, to pursue a Master of Science in Geography, making him the first African beneficiary of this scholarship program.
The student exchange scholarship program, which was started shortly after the Second World War by an act of Congress, was named after the American Senator J. William Fulbright, its framer. He made the case that “educational exchange could turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanising of international relations.”
Through his notable achievements and illustrious career, it is clear that this initiative to bridge cultural gaps through an international education exchange program had Prof. Senteza as one its successes.
Education
UNESCO CFIT III, Transforming Higher Education through Innovation and Competence-Based Skills
Makerere University hosted an insightful and educational national workshop at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) conference hall on July 29, 2025 aimed at citing ways how Higher Education can be improved into innovation and research-led learning as well as how education can be changed from the traditional learning to competence-based learning. The workshop was based on the theme, “Reimagining Higher Education for a Skills-Based, Innovation-Led Economy”.
The event commenced with a tour of exhibitions which featured innovations like, skin care products (With love) body jelly created by Raphaelina Okoth a student from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, designed to provide effective hydration for different skin types, and an AI powered medical diagnosis system (Integrated healthcare system) designed to reduce waiting times in health care settings, featuring emergency management capabilities and patient doctor communication tools developed by Hargreave Aturinzire a student from the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS). Other innovations included Mobile App similar to Uber that helps users find trustworthy mechanics in case a car breaks down in an emergency, reducing delays and inconveniences through features like voice support and photo uploads, developed by students based at the Makerere University Innovation Pod (Mak UniPod). Developed by Bill Canton Ojoke and Nanzala Joyce. M both students from CEDAT, a water quality testing prototype for fish farmers that automatically monitors parameters like temperature, PH, and ammonia levels sending SMS alerts when issues are detected was also showcased. Also exhibited was an automated precision irrigation system designed to solve issues of over and under irrigation problems, developed by students from College of Health Sciences (CHS) and College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) among others.
Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, expressed his appreciation to the citizens and Government of the People’s Republic of China who made the funds available to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to undertake the important assignment, the China Funds In Trust (CFIT) project. He further thanked the government of Uganda for supporting innovations and technology taking place at different universities.
“I am really encouraged that they are still some Ugandans who receive other people’s money and put it to good use; they are people with integrity which helps our country to move forward,” said Prof. Nawangwe.
He made mention of the success of other countries like South Korea and China in innovation and the need for Uganda to follow suit as this will boost the economy of the country, and demonstrate the importance of promoting innovation and research.
He emphasized the importance of creating jobs for the growing youth population to stabilize the state of Uganda, a task that is upon Ugandans themselves and not anybody else from any country, “The bulk of industrialization in Uganda must be by Ugandans and particularly the young people who have had the opportunity to get higher education, especially in innovation and research related fields,” he said. “History will judge us harshly if we don’t do anything to create jobs for our people,” he argued.
The Vice Chancellor discussed the challenge of low enrollment in higher education in Uganda and the need to produce more engineers and technologists. “We need to put our efforts together in order to have a reasonable impact,” he said.
Prof. Nawangwe called for collaboration among universities to have a significant impact on industrialization and job creation. He highlighted the role of Mak UniPod in producing companies and creating jobs. “I believe that through the training our students and staff undergo at the UniPod, we are going to begin churning out companies”, said Prof. Nawangwe.
He sounded a wakeup call on the importance of using current resources to make an impact and the potential risks of relying on external aid. “This is not going to be there all the time as the funders can wake up in the morning and freeze all the funds”, said the Vice Chancellor. He said this in relation to the United States of America’s act of withdrawing their funding from UNESCO. “This should be a very good lesson,” he commented.
Deputy Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Prof. Nixon Kamukama highlighted the success of the project, mentioning that six African countries participated, with Mbarara University and Makerere University being chosen from Uganda.
“Traditional lecture methods are being replaced with hands-on, student-centered training, the emphasis is on practical skills, with more time spent in the field rather than lecture halls”, he stated.
He further explained the training of lecturers under the CFIT project, with two cohorts completing the training and receiving certificates. This is in line with skilling and preparing for the students doing the new curriculum who are coming on board. “And it is our policy that as a lecturer, if you don’t have a certificate when it comes to 2027, it will be hard for you to appear on the timetable, because you will have no skills”, said Prof. Nixon.
However, he discussed the challenges of matching traditional lecturers with students trained in competence-based education. “It would be very difficult to match the traditional lecturer and the student who has trained differently”, he said.
He went on and said that there is a mismatch in training approaches, particularly affecting education students who struggle to find employment. Schools are finding it very difficult to employ Students who are doing education because they have not been taken through the competence-based curriculum”, he expressed.
He however encouraged the government to address employment issues by supporting competency-based education whereby a student can manage to start up a project and move on instead of looking for jobs.
Prof. Kamukama also emphasized the need for practical training. “You need farms that will engage all these students, 80% of the time should be spent in the field. We have to take lecture rooms to the industries or bring industries to the lecture rooms”, he stated.
He explained that traditional lecture methods are becoming obsolete, with a shift towards hands-on training. “Soon lecturers and professors are going to put aside their yellow notes and we move on”, he said.
He acknowledged the role of artificial intelligence in education with a focus on practical skills.
Mr. Timothy Ssejjoba, the Commissioner University Education and Training in the Ministry of Education and Sports, expressed gratitude to UNESCO for their coordination efforts and securing funds from the People’s Republic of China.
In his remarks, he highlighted the focus on competence-based assessment systems to prepare students for employment. “I think this project is really leading higher technical education into employment”, he stated.
Mr. Ssejjoba introduced the concept of green skills and their importance in creating a sustainable world. “We need to ensure that whatever we do, we do it in a way that would enable the world to be here long after us”, he commented.
He further mentioned the upcoming training on green skills to ensure that the education system empowers learners to sustainably develop the world. In this he emphasized the need for the education system to support and embrace green skills development.
Mrs. Nasaba Rosemary a representative from UNESCO, congratulated Makerere University and MUST upon their competence based education initiatives. And on this note, she emphasized the importance of celebrating success and innovation in education.
She further mentioned the pride felt by UNESCO due to the universities’ achievements and hoped that the successful model will be replicated across all universities and schools in Uganda.
The UNESCO representative discussed the importance of hands on learning and practical experience in education. “We need people who have learned from experience, that’s why we are very proud that you are looking at competence and hands on approaches”, she stated.
Education
Mak CEES Principal commends Prof. İbrahim Hakan Karataş for undertaking research in higher education
On Thursday 24th July 2025, the Principal of the College of Education and External Studies, Prof. Anthony Muwagga Mugagga, commended Prof. İbrahim Hakan Karataş, an international Postdoctoral Research Fellow from Turkey, for his contribution to research and graduate training at Makerere University in particular, and Uganda at large.
Prof. Karataş has undertaken research on Uganda’s Higher Education considering its broader political, economic and academic context, in order to contribute to a comparative study aligned with Turkey-Africa vision and internationalization policies in higher education.
Prof. Karataş is a scholar and researcher. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Turkish language and literature. He earned his PhD in Educational Leadership in 2008. He is an academic, who has served in the capacity of Assistant Professor as well as Head of Educational Administration Department at the Medeniyet University in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prof. Karataş has worked with academic staff at School of Education including Dr. Charles Kyasanku and Dr. Alfred Buluma to write papers focusing on Uganda’s higher education sector. He has also engaged and involved graduate students in research and publication undertakings.
Posted at the School of Education effective 15th August 2024, Prof. Karataş completed his research fellowship at Makerere University on 24th July 2025.
Bidding him farewell, Prof. Mugagga appreciated Prof. Karataş for choosing to work with staff in the College of Education and External Studies, and for his deliberate focus on research in higher education. Prof. Mugagga re-affirmed that Prof. Karataş’ research and findings will inform and enrich the higher education sector.
To ensure that Prof. Karataş continues to remember the institution, the College Principal presented to him, a Makerere University Necktie. Prof. Mugagga noted that the souvenir would enable Prof. Karataş always rekindle the great memories about Makerere University and the College of Education and External Studies.
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