Assign students projects to develop parishes – Prof Suruma
Makerere University Chancellor Ezra Suruma (left) and the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, during the Makerere University Alumni Homecoming Dinner at Freedom Square, Kampala, on July 22,2022. PHOTO/ FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- The university chancellor said students should come up with parish development projects in order to graduate.
The Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof Ezra Suruma, has said students should be encouraged to find solutions to problems affecting their respective parishes.
Prof Suruma made the remarks during the university’s Alumni Homecoming Dinner last Friday.
The Chancellor urged the university administration to assign each student a project that is going to solve a problem in his or her parish.
“Because all of us come from one parish or another, I hope that every student will get an assignment to go and solve a problem in his or her parish as a condition to get his or her degree,” he said.
He also encouraged the university to abandon the colonial and imperial education system which trains students to memorise and reproduce knowledge from books and instead concentrate on research to come up with solutions to some of the problems Ugandans face such access to food, decent shelter, clothing, education, and good health.
Ms Lorna Magara, the University Council chairperson, said the institution has impacted on lives beyond the borders of Uganda.
Ms Magara added that they have secured $300m (Shs1.1 trillion) funding to build and equip a 300 bed university teaching hospital in Katalemwa to reduce pressure at Mulago hospital.
She said they will also build a students’ resource centre and more students hostels.
In Febraury, President Museveni launched the Parish Model Development, a programme government is banking on to lift 17.5 million Ugandans in 3.5 million households out of poverty.
In this programme, the country’s nearly 10,600 parishes are to get seed money of Shs100 million per parish.
The programme will be supervised by the parish chiefs who should possess a diploma in Public Administration and Management, Social Work and Social Administration, and Development Studies or Business Administration.
The person should also possess skills such as planning, organising, coordinating, records management, mobilisation, public relations, customer care, effective communication, ethics and integrity, concern for quality and standards.
Background...About Makerere
Established in 1922, Makerere University started as a technical school. In 1970, the institution became a university.
