28 NEW VISION, Wednesday April 15, 2015 MWALIMU Kyambogo University Q&A better off as institution Teachers email your questions to The New Vision of Monday, March 30, technical institutions were only 4,393 or [email protected] Or on page 9, reported Professor Mondo 2% in 2012/3. In the same year, technical Kagonyera, the Chancellor of Makerere colleges constituted only 4% of tertiary by SMS, type MWALIMU University, as saying that Kyambogo institutions, whereas business institutions University “should revert to its former were 33% and universities some 18%, (space) your question and send status as a polytechnic and a teacher making the sub-sector look like an 8338. Francis Kagolo will training institute.” If he said so, I agree inverted pyramid. with him. My position has been the same For a country to economically take present them to the relevant for a while (see my article in New Vision, off, its tertiary science and technology October 30, 2013, page 27). In support enrolment ratio must be 40% of eligible officials of Kagonyera, Kyambogo should be students (of all people aged 18-20). disaggregated for the following reasons. Although Uganda’s total enrolment ratio First of all, the merger was rushed is about 6%, the science and technology and misconceived. Created in 2003 by ratio is probably less than 2%. Increase merging the former Institute of Teacher in technical and other science based Can the Government recruit Education, Kyambogo (ITEK), Uganda non-university institutions in context Polytechnic, Kyambogo (UPK) and the Prof. Abdu Kasozi of a flexible higher education system, me without a transcript? Uganda National Institute of Special lubricated by a credit system to ease Education (UNISE), the university has Thirdly, the merger devalued and is mobility of students among programmes I am a secondary school teacher. I graduated last failed to integrate into a consolidated killing the only high level polytechnic and institutions is the only way to go. year from Muni National Teachers College, but our institution. that trained the high level technicians Lastly, to reduce on capital flight transcripts are not ready. Can the Government recruit The reasons for the failure are first, who used to build and repair the through the importation of technicians us using any other means? each of the former units had its separate industrial and community infrastructure to work on hotels, roads, industrial Nolious Omodhokuma vision and social niche that could not of the nation and teachers of junior plants and mines, the former Kyambogo easily be accommodated by another. As a technical colleges. Polytechnic should be separated from result, the new university failed to adopt Fourthly, the merging contributed to a Kyambogo University in order to produce a shared vision and mission to bind the structural distortion of Uganda’s higher skilled technicians. Margaret Nsereko, a commissioner for teacher education three former units into a single institution education system, where we have more in the Ministry of Education, says you cannot be recruited with a common purpose. students in universities (the majority of The writer is a Research Associate without a registration certificate from the Teacher Education Secondly, having been administratively whom are studying arts and humanities; at Makerere Institute of Social Department. One of the requirements for the certificate is brought into one basket, each could 100,637 of 220,201 tertiary students or Research. He is also the former a certified transcript, O’ and A’ level certificates. Nsereko not follow its former mission since 66% in 2012/3) than in other tertiary Executive Director of the National says nowadays transcripts are issued on time unlike three the merger meant the death of the old institutions. Students who registered in Council for Higher Education years ago. She advises you to go to Kyambogo University, constituent institutions. Third, and a which issues transcripts, to find out whether yours is result of the first and second factors, ready. When you get it, you will need to have a certified each lost its former niche in the market photocopy before taking one to the ministry to acquire a because the new institution did not have registration certificate. Nsereko says it takes one day to get the internal strength and capacity to the certificate at the ministry if you go with all the required focus on any of the services each of the documents. merged institutions was known for (i.e. the production of high level technicians from UPK, specialists in special education from UNISE and good lower secondary Can I qualify for an MBA with teachers from ITEK). The Visitation to Public Universities Committee of 2006-7 (the McGregor an ACCA level II certificate? Committee), advised the Government to If I have done ACCA up to level two, but do not hold a either disaggregate the university back bachelor’s degree from any university, do I qualify for to its former institutions or to allow for an MBA? a much slower merger by loosening the David Nsumba current centralised union bonds and making the institution a federal one. Secondly, those who rushed the Peter Odoki, the public relations officer of Makerere merger failed to realise that whenever University Business School, says having a level two ACCA degree programmes are brought into a without a bachelor’s degree is not enough to be admitted diploma awarding institution, the latter for the MBA degree course. He says you need to complete programmes are presumed to be of lower all the levels to be fully certified. status and cannot compete with degree Kyambogo University’s faculty of education. Some educationists say the studies. university has failed to integrate into a consolidated institution.