Isaac Khisa and Al Mahdi Ssenkabirwa
9 November 2009
Kampala — Makerere University is planning to set up learning centres in various parts of the country in an effort to reduce congestion at the 87-year old institution.
Speaking to Education Guide last Friday, the new acting vice Chancellor, Prof .Venansius Baryamureeba said upcountry campuses will be located in areas where there no existing universities.
He said only competitive courses that attract many applicants will be offered at the centres. However, he didn't disclose when the centres will be operational.
"Our target is to decongest the main campus and all courses that attract many students will be offered at the upcountry campuses to save students from the burden of coming to Kampala ," he said. He explained that the centres will be set up through a private-public partnership where individual developers will rent out their buildings to the university. "We have properly planned for the expansion and I am optimistic that it will work out," he said. "We are going to contact the private sector to erect structures and we shall hire from them."
This is the first time Makerere University is planning to extend education closer to the people. The university currently boasts of a 36,000 student population, some of whom reside at the campus while others commute from nearby hostels or home.
The institution has over the years been criticised for declining education standards and infrastructural development. Currently, all the students admitted to the institution and its affiliate Makerere University Business School (MUBS) have to study at the main branches in Kampala.
Two Makerere University academic staff members, Professor Tom Otiti of the department of physics in the Faculty of Science and Dr Charles Basaalirwa, who heads the geography department were recently awarded a joint Nobel Prize for their work with the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IGPCC)
It is a UN body charged with monitoring man-made causes of climate change.
Kampala International University, Bugema University, Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) and Ndejje University are among other universities that have already established learning centers in different parts of the country and South Sudan.
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