Here is what I stand for as the next Chairman Makerere University Convocation.
1) My leadership will work tooth and nail to ensure that Makerere University has its own publishing house akin to what other prestigious universities do own. The Makerere University printery shall give way for Makerere University Publishers/Press.
2) During my leadership Makerere University shall run a weekly News Magazine wherein I and other prominent alumni and staff will run regular columns on issues of governance, constitutionalism, rule of law, democracy and all societal issues from a holistic perspective. There is nothing that stops Makerere University Convocation from running a weekly magazine.
3) My leadership shall erect a radio station with a national and regional coverage with a view to engaging the entire populace on issues that matter. The programmes will be broadcast in various languages. In the near future, we shall pool resources and have a television station. We must work through and with the media if Makerere is to regain its past glory. And, I insist all is possible. It only requires us to decide that we want a, b and c. Remember there is nothing impossible since ours is a world of possibilities.
4) My leadership shall start a serious research institute to carry out academic research but also applied research that is necessary for development. This will equip our young but talented graduates to build a career in research. For sure, research is a sine qua non for development.
5) My leadership will put in place a sturdy secretariat of not less than fifty members to purely run convocation matters. I feel so sad to find that memberless NGOs far outshine Makerere University Convocation, an organisation to which all alumni and members of staff are members.
6) I, together with my team shall create a data base of everybody who has gone through the gates of Makerere as a student, lecturer, professor, and administration staff or even support staff. This data base will help us reach out to key stakeholders to provide solutions that have beset Makerere University.
7) I shall fight root and branch, body, mind and soul, left, right and centre for the welfare of Makerere University students for they are all our young siblings and we are their big brothers and sisters.
8) During my tenure as a university council member, fees increments will be a thing of the past. Section 2 of the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act (UTIA) is clear. A public university is run out of public funds. What it means is that all students of Makerere University including private sponsored students must never be denied access on the basis of exorbitant and prohibitive fees. Private students are in particular meant to be subsidised.
9) My leadership will take Makerere University convocation to the people in the countryside including to all East African countries and the diaspora. Thus, we shall have a regional office for each of the four regions respectively, we shall have convocation offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi but also South Sudan. And we shall have an office in the diaspora to make Makerere a global University.
10) My leadership will start a Makererean Think Tank on all socio-economic and political issues. This tank shall majorly do academic research and disseminate findings through publications and public fora. Never again will anything take place in Uganda without the input of thousands of intellectuals that Makerere has churned out.
11) My leadership will mobilise and organise all Makerere Alumni around issues of a socio-economic nature and ultimately we shall form a social movement that will dictate to our national and regional leaders on what must be done. This social movement if I can be allowed to borrow a leaf from the words of Martin Luther shall ensure that nobody in Uganda or outside bends their back to enable other people ride on it.
12) Via the data base, we shall share all the opportunities - jobs, scholarships, short fellowships, research grants and so forth to all Makerere Alumni and staff.
13) My leadership will spearhead constitutional amendment to ensure that students also participate in the voting for the Convocation leadership. One may ask, “how can they vote yet they are not alumni and are not allowed to stand?” My answer to such a question is, there is nothing strange, there is nothing spectacular, there is nothing new about it. We men vote for Women MPs but cannot stand. The justification is that women issues and concerns are directly or indirectly concerns of men. This is because every woman has either a husband or a father or a brother. Likewise, the convocation is represented at the university council. Council is the supreme decision-making organ of the University. Council decisions affect students as well as staff. The convocation right now comprises of alumni and staff but not students. We need to make it more embracing and make the campaigns for leadership positions vibrant, open and more participatory and inclusive.
14) My leadership will categorise members on the basis of voluntary subscriptions. We shall have platinum category of members, diamond category, gold category and silver category. We shall endear the alumni, staff members and former staff members to Makerere University by making the Convocation relevant.
The above and very many ideas that I, you the distinguished members and my team will generate will ensure we begin on a journey of having an egalitarian society based on the principles of social justice and human dignity.
1) My leadership will work tooth and nail to ensure that Makerere University has its own publishing house akin to what other prestigious universities do own. The Makerere University printery shall give way for Makerere University Publishers/Press.
2) During my leadership Makerere University shall run a weekly News Magazine wherein I and other prominent alumni and staff will run regular columns on issues of governance, constitutionalism, rule of law, democracy and all societal issues from a holistic perspective. There is nothing that stops Makerere University Convocation from running a weekly magazine.
3) My leadership shall erect a radio station with a national and regional coverage with a view to engaging the entire populace on issues that matter. The programmes will be broadcast in various languages. In the near future, we shall pool resources and have a television station. We must work through and with the media if Makerere is to regain its past glory. And, I insist all is possible. It only requires us to decide that we want a, b and c. Remember there is nothing impossible since ours is a world of possibilities.
4) My leadership shall start a serious research institute to carry out academic research but also applied research that is necessary for development. This will equip our young but talented graduates to build a career in research. For sure, research is a sine qua non for development.
5) My leadership will put in place a sturdy secretariat of not less than fifty members to purely run convocation matters. I feel so sad to find that memberless NGOs far outshine Makerere University Convocation, an organisation to which all alumni and members of staff are members.
6) I, together with my team shall create a data base of everybody who has gone through the gates of Makerere as a student, lecturer, professor, and administration staff or even support staff. This data base will help us reach out to key stakeholders to provide solutions that have beset Makerere University.
7) I shall fight root and branch, body, mind and soul, left, right and centre for the welfare of Makerere University students for they are all our young siblings and we are their big brothers and sisters.
8) During my tenure as a university council member, fees increments will be a thing of the past. Section 2 of the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act (UTIA) is clear. A public university is run out of public funds. What it means is that all students of Makerere University including private sponsored students must never be denied access on the basis of exorbitant and prohibitive fees. Private students are in particular meant to be subsidised.
9) My leadership will take Makerere University convocation to the people in the countryside including to all East African countries and the diaspora. Thus, we shall have a regional office for each of the four regions respectively, we shall have convocation offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi but also South Sudan. And we shall have an office in the diaspora to make Makerere a global University.
10) My leadership will start a Makererean Think Tank on all socio-economic and political issues. This tank shall majorly do academic research and disseminate findings through publications and public fora. Never again will anything take place in Uganda without the input of thousands of intellectuals that Makerere has churned out.
11) My leadership will mobilise and organise all Makerere Alumni around issues of a socio-economic nature and ultimately we shall form a social movement that will dictate to our national and regional leaders on what must be done. This social movement if I can be allowed to borrow a leaf from the words of Martin Luther shall ensure that nobody in Uganda or outside bends their back to enable other people ride on it.
12) Via the data base, we shall share all the opportunities - jobs, scholarships, short fellowships, research grants and so forth to all Makerere Alumni and staff.
13) My leadership will spearhead constitutional amendment to ensure that students also participate in the voting for the Convocation leadership. One may ask, “how can they vote yet they are not alumni and are not allowed to stand?” My answer to such a question is, there is nothing strange, there is nothing spectacular, there is nothing new about it. We men vote for Women MPs but cannot stand. The justification is that women issues and concerns are directly or indirectly concerns of men. This is because every woman has either a husband or a father or a brother. Likewise, the convocation is represented at the university council. Council is the supreme decision-making organ of the University. Council decisions affect students as well as staff. The convocation right now comprises of alumni and staff but not students. We need to make it more embracing and make the campaigns for leadership positions vibrant, open and more participatory and inclusive.
14) My leadership will categorise members on the basis of voluntary subscriptions. We shall have platinum category of members, diamond category, gold category and silver category. We shall endear the alumni, staff members and former staff members to Makerere University by making the Convocation relevant.
The above and very many ideas that I, you the distinguished members and my team will generate will ensure we begin on a journey of having an egalitarian society based on the principles of social justice and human dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment