Public university in Kampala, Uganda From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Makerere University (/məˈkɛrəri/;[6]Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa.[7] It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of nine colleges and one school, offering programmes for about 36,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. These colleges include College of Natural Sciences (CONAS), College of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Engineering Art & Design (CEDAT), College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies (CAES), College Of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHUSS), College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS), College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Bio-security (COVAB), College of Education and External Studies (CEES) and Makerere University Business School (MUBS). In addition, Makerere has onother campus in Eastern Uganda Jinja City.
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Makerere University
The Main Administration block for Makerere University, normally called the Main Building
The main administrative block was gutted by fire in September 2020 and the cause of the fire is yet to be established.[8] The building is being reconstructed.
Because of student unrest and faculty disenchantment, the university was closed three times between 2006 and 2016. The final time was on 1 November 2016 when President Yoweri Museveni declared it closed indefinitely.[11] The university was reopened in January 2017.[12]
Founding of the technical school
The trade school that became Makerere University began operating in 1921 with the first classes in carpentry, building construction and mechanics.[13] In 1922, it was founded as the "Uganda Technical College" with additional courses in the arts, education, agriculture and medicine.[13][14] That same year it was again renamed as Makerere College.[13] In 1928, the vocational classes were separated from the college and renamed Kampala Technical School.[13] In 1937 the college began offering post-secondary education certificate courses.[14]
University
In 1943, the British Protectorate government proposed the university, which led to a controversial struggle. It was described as "a plot to steal African soil for European settlement," by the Bataka Party. In response to this campaign, there was rioting in the capital of Kampala.[15]
In 1949, Makerere College was granted university status and its name became Makerere College, University of East Africa.[16] In the same year, the Bataka Party had been banned by the British Protectorate government, because of acts of riot and arson committed after a Bataka protest gathering.[17]
Unrest in the 2000s
The university was closed three times between 2006 and 2016.[18]
Beginning on 1 August 2016, the non-teaching staff went on strike demanding back pay. The strike lasted three weeks and the government agreed to pay them by the end of October; however, the government failed to make the payment.[19] This was but one more broken promise in a cycle of failed promises, strikes and more promises.[18] That strike was followed by a strike of the lecturers over unpaid incentive pay, and that strike was joined by students in solidarity. This led to President Yoweri Museveni closing the university "indefinitely".[18] Additional protests, including from parents whose children were left hanging in mid-semester, led to Museveni appointing a special commission to try to rectify the situation but with no promises of reopening. The commission's report was due in late February 2017.[11]
On 20 September 2020, the main building of Makerere University (the Ivory Tower) was severely damaged by fire,[20] allegedly following a probe by Uganda Parliament into financial mismanagement by university authorities.[21][22]
In 2022, the university celebrated its centenary since its establishment as Makerere College in 1922. The institution was granted additional land for expansion into a university by Nsibirwa, a former prime minister of the Buganda Kingdom, in 1945. Despite facing numerous challenges in Uganda's political, social, and academic history, the institution has persevered for a century.[23][24]
On October 7, 2022, a ceremony commemorating the centenary was held at Freedom Square, with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in attendance. A statue monument was unveiled at the entrance of the university's Freedom Square to mark this significant milestone in Uganda's educational sector.[25]
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Andrew Felix Kaweesi, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Uganda, military officer and policeman; Spokesperson of Uganda Police Force, 2016–2017
Mwai Kibaki, the third president of Kenya, 2002–2013; graduated at the top of his class (summa cum laude) in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics[49]
Martin Ssempa, controversial Ugandan pastor and AIDS activist
As of September 2015, the halls of residence at Makerere University included the following:[53]
For men
Livingstone Hall
Lumumba Hall (defunct 2022)
Mitchell Hall
Nkrumah Hall
Nsibirwa Hall
University Hall
For women
Africa Hall
Mary Stuart Hall
Complex Hall
For students of medicine in their final years
Galloway House
Postgraduate Hall
Dag Hammarskjöld Hostel
In January 2010, the university announced the opening of two new campuses, one in the city of Fort Portal, approximately 310 kilometres (190mi), by road, west of Kampala, and another one in the city of Jinja, approximately 85 kilometres (53mi), by road, east of Kampala. The following courses are offered at the upcountry campuses:[54]
In September 2020, a fire gutted the Main Building of Makerere University, destroying university records and the building structure.[8] A subsequent investigation by an eleven-person team could not establish a definite cause of the fire, but pointed to an electric fault as a likely cause.[55]
In August 2021, the Cabinet of Uganda resolved to break down what remained of the Main Building after the fire. A new building, which will be designed to look like the original structure, will be erected at the same location, at a budgeted cost of UGX:21 billion (approx. US$6 million).[56]
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to Excel Construction Company Limited, a Ugandan company and a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group. The reconstruction process began in April 2022, starting with tearing down the structurally unsound original building, built in the 1930s and commissioned in 1941.[57]
Uganda. Public Service Review and Re-organization Commission (1990). Public Service Review and Reorganisation Commission, 1989-1990, Volume 1. Kampala, Uganda: Uganda. Ministry of Public Service and Cabinet Affairs. p.272. OCLC32432462.
Byaruhanga, Frederick K. (2013). Student Power in Africa's Higher Education: A Case of Makerere University (seconded.). New York: Taylor & Francis (Routledge). p.20. ISBN978-1-135-51448-8., originally published in 2006, ISBN978-0-415-97746-3
Barungi. Andrew (21 November 2016). "Makerere University is closed. Now what?". Uganda Journalists' Resource Centre, The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME). Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.