“I think you can no longer challenge Makerere. Makerere is like Windows. Everybody with a computer, it is run by windows,” Prof. Waswa Balunywa, the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Principal said candidly on Thursday 25th November 2021 during a stakeholder engagement event.
Prof. Balunywa who was on the panel with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Mrs. Dorothy Kisaka and the University Secretary Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, said that Makerere has mothered all the institutions in Uganda. He thinks the University has set a standard that all other institutions in the country must follow.
Prof. Balunywa has been at the helm of MUBS since 1991 when it was still Faculty of Commerce at Makerere University and is cognisant of the institution’s academic reputation. Thus he thinks, the “pricelessness of Makerere must be leveraged to move not only Makerere ahead but higher education and the entire education system in this country. Makerere has this capacity. It needs to be a bit innovative and more free.”
Concurring with Prof Balunywa, Kiranda quipped, “Makerere has enjoyed the last 100 years as the elephant in the house.”
As Makerere prepares to mark its centennial journey next year, it will be engaging stakeholders, partners, alumni, students and staff through a series of events. Makerere University Council Chairperson, Mrs. Lorna Magara urged stakeholders to partner with the institution to make the “future more impactful.”
The panelists who discussed the topic, “leveraging 100 years of excellence in building a transformed society” tipped Makerere on areas where it needs to improve. Mrs. Dorothy Kisaka advised Makerere to focus on human capital development through collaboration and partnerships between the institution and the workplaces by creating a window for students in order to prepare them for the post university life. It’s a proposal that was reinforced by other panelists and speakers. Click here for more information