Education
Mak vision for blended learning is alive, Prof Kakumba
Makerere University’s vision for blended learning which was adopted during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, is on track, the Acting Vice Chancellor (VC) who doubles as the Deputy VC Prof Umar Kakumba has said.
Prof Umar Kakumba said Makerere has already integrated Open, Distance and e-learning (ODeL) into the teaching and learning of students.
He said the institution has ensured capacity building with two high-end servers installed to support the generation of course content.
“The servers are very powerful and will be enabling tools for lecturers during repository of heavy files, videos and other learning materials,” DVC said.
He was speaking at the dissemination workshop of Comprehensive Evaluation of Blended Learning (CEBL) Phase II at the university’s main campus in Kampala recently.
Researchers led by Mr Arthur Mugisha, the principal investigator (PI) of CEBL, conducted research to assess the e-learning model integrated into teaching and learning.
Their research launched in 2021, was aimed at evaluating long distance learning, how it works and the requirements to ensure effectiveness in higher institutions of learning.
The first phase of the study was conducted on undergraduate students.
CEBL I
The study revealed that the students called for sustainable resources, technologies and methods to improve the learning of students.
The study evaluated the learner’s status, to establish readiness, satisfaction and challenges they were facing and also establish potential solutions to the challenges they had.
“51 percent of the students were willing and were ready to take up blended learning for purpose of continuity because they were under lockdown,” the research finds revealed.
The study also indicated students were not consulted much but it was something that was helping them as well.
However, 49 percent of the students from the samples were a little bit skeptical, critical and were reluctant to adopt blended learning.
“60 percent of the respondents had not received adequate learner support but as students were looking for support, the lecturers were also looking for support,” the research further stated.
Mr Mugisha added: “89 percent of undergraduate students were getting support from their lecturers via zoom. And accessing this platform was mainly through smartphones and laptops.”
CEBL research also revealed how students at the end of the day, accepted that e-learning was the only way to go.
“We suggested that there should be a one-student support centre because students were asking how they can be supported,” the project PI said.
The support needed included a number of players that is the technical support, academic support, social support, equipment and resources and non-academic support.
CEBL Phase II
E-learning evaluation phase II looked at graduate students and how they understood ODeL.
According to the research, graduate students were yearning for quality blended learning and were so interested in it because it is convenient.
However, they noted people had misunderstood blended as the use of Zoom which was not correct.
Being a working class group, they believed if the university provided a cross-cutting course during entry to introduce them to how e-learning workers, it would be helpful to them.
e-learning infrastructure
IoDEL scholars led by Prof Kakumba worn a grant of Shs7bn to enhance capacity building including upgrading of the Makerere University e-learning (Muele) platform.
The University management has ensured the internet at campus is strengthened.
“Muele has been upgraded to increase on the operating speed because we received complaints that it was not stable and could not provide a conducive learning environment to students.”
“In the capacity building process, all the programmes offered by Makerere both at undergraduate and post-graduate level have a slot on Muele,” Prof Kakumba said.
Introduction of e-learning course for Mak staff
Working with the Institute of teaching and learning under the College of Education, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Makerere looks at capacity building.
A short certificate course is in the pipeline to equip academic staff with the skills needed, Prof. Kakumba said.
He said Senate and the University Council passed a proposal of retooling lecturers and once approved, all staff will be subjected to that course.
The short course is expected to take four-six weeks of training focusing on how to design course content, assessing competitiveness of learners and setting learning outcomes among others.
The proposal was informed by the Directorate of Quality Assurance after learning that some academic staff lacked delivery skills when teaching o-line.
Implementation of the e-learning Policy
Makerere’s learning agenda through the policy framework was passed by Senate and University Council concerning blended learning and a brief report will be sent to parliament.
The policy the DVC said is a pillar of innovative teaching and the Mak revised teaching and learning policy 2023 has enshrined the blended teaching and learning.
Principal of the College of education, Prof Anthony Muwagga Mugagga, noted that all lectures at his college have already adopted blended learning.
“As a leader in the educational pedagogy and ICT, we will be able to help the entire university to adopt blended learning and teaching and to help our students,” Prof Mugagga said.
Call for government support towards research
Prof Fred Masagazi Masaazi, the Chairperson of the Grants Committee/Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund (Makrif), called for government support.
He noted that the university receives Shs30 billion every financial year but he was concerned that for this fiscal year about Shs5 billion had not been received.
“Applications are overwhelming but there are no funds currently to facilitate research. We request the government for funds before the end of this financial Year,” he said.
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
-
General1 week agoMirror Frank Kalimuzo’s life of service-MUBS Principal
-
General2 weeks agoIsraeli Ambassador Lotem Talks Innovation on Farewell Visit
-
Research2 weeks agoMak and MSU Host Landmark Symposium on Insects for Food, Feed, and Food Security in Africa
-
General1 week agoDirectorate of Graduate Training Rolls out Research Management Information Sytems (RIMS)
-
Engineering, Art & Tech2 weeks agoMakerere University and Nile Basin Discourse Partner on Water Resource Management Initiative