By the end of this week, the new Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera will have conferred upon PhDs, Master's and Bachelor's degrees and diplomas to 5,584 graduands.

Not only is it his first graduation ceremony to preside over as chancellor of Makerere, the graduation format itself is the first of its kind. Unlike previous years, this graduation event lasts five days and it is appropriately dubbed 'Graduation Week'.

The event, which started on January 28 and runs up to February 1, has taken on a decentralised format with graduands from respective faculties graduating on particular days.

Of the graduands, 2,720 are female, representing 48.7%, while their male counterparts number 2,864 (51.3%).

Six PhDs were awarded in botany, veterinary medicine, education, surveying, medicine and population studies. Of these only one is female: Sarah Mubiru who got a PhD in Agriculture.

There are also 443 graduating with Master's degrees and 98 with post-graduate diplomas. In all, 547 will be conferred upon post-graduate qualifications, representing 9.8% of the overall number of graduands. Among these are two pioneering students of Master's in Journalism and Communication.

Of the 443 Master's graduands, 290 are male while 153 are female.

Some 4,959 graduands received Bachelor's degrees, with 2,457 being male and 2,502 being female.

Addressing the graduands, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Livingstone Luboobi, urged them to go out and make a difference in society with the skills they have learnt from the university.

The new Chancellor, who was only installed on January 22, added that he aspires to improve the status of Makerere University.

Prof. Kagonyera said that he would make sure the degrees awarded by the university are always of good quality. He called upon every one at Makerere University to play their part in this endeavour.

According to officials, Makerere University will henceforth stage one graduation week every academic year.