Govt should be more involved in university operations

By Dr Jerome S. Lugumira
Posted 


Monday, May 4 

2015 at 

01:00

Recently, Prof Mondo Kagonyera questioned the status of Kyambogo University, suggesting the need to revert the University to its former status – as a teacher training institution (ITEK), a polytechnic (UPK), and a special needs education institute (UNISE). Comments have since been made regarding the Professor’s statements and suggestions, and quite recently, Sunday Monitor columnist, Harold Acemah encouraged a critical look at the debate so far started by Prof Kagonyera.
Having had the opportunity to teach in a foreign university (i.e. Washington State University), and having had the chance to engage with some of the world’s leading research minds tenured at Washington State University and beyond, I understand the Professor’s frustration. The dynamism of these institutions in research and teaching compel anyone to reconsider the status of our own universities.
Indeed, to some observers following this debate, it appears the Kyambogo University project is dead. Elsewhere, it has been argued that forging a united vision out of three institutions, with quite contrasting visions and mandates was going to be a difficult task. But the question is, how have others gone around such challenges? The example of the merger involving Maryland State College of Agriculture and Baltimore professional schools, which gave rise to the University of Maryland, College Park, in the US, is testimony that it was not wrong to merge ITEK, UPK and UNISE into one institution. Rather, we need to understand the fact that the expectations were, and still are, that the product of the union has to function like a university – a place for advanced scholarship. The question is whether Kyambogo University has been offered the opportunity and tools to function as a university. For brevity, I will not get into the details of the administration and academic malaise at Kyambogo University, but would like to let the good old professor know that it is pretty much the same elsewhere, save for a few.
Prof Kagonyera will be shocked to find that the rot elsewhere makes Kyambogo University look quite progressive in a number of ways. For example, what will he say when he learns that in a certain public university in Uganda, a staff without a Ph.D., no clear publishing record to talk about, and no record of graduate students supervision was promoted to the rank of associate professor? What will he do when he learns that in the same university, some academic programmes are run without express accreditation by professional bodies? Will he not faint when he learns that in the said university some lecturers teach in departments outside the scope of their expertise? What will be his comment to the chancellor of a certain public university in Uganda when he gets to know that some students in that university sit for end of semester examinations with less than a quarter of the course outline covered? How will he react when he is told that in the said university, there has been no significant infrastructure development since its inception? That in one of the faculties, departments share office space in rooms with very limited working space. That in this university, part-time teaching assistants are an alternative to visiting senior academics, solely because the latter no longer want to participate given the reluctance of this university to pay for their services.
The afore-mentioned and a lot more are truly happening, and have let many people to question the authority of the central government in as far as supervising public universities. A lot has been talked about in regard to corruption in public universities; so much so that the continued silence on the part of the line ministries supervising these institutions is most likely going to suggest collusion – where many of us are tempted to think that the loot is shared amongst them! It is, therefore, time for government to stamp its authority on these universities so as to stem the loss of public funds, including internally generated monies. Beyond this, government needs to look further than meeting the Wage Bill of these institutions. It has to get actively involved in the running of these universities – from programmes development and delivery, to research funding.

Dr Lugumira is a lecturer, Gulu Universityjerlug@yahoo.com