Makerere staff want teaching equipment not biometrics - MUASA

The Chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) has said the installation of the  biometric management systems was not a priority for the university especially at a time when Makerere is allegedly grappling with inadequate teaching equipment.

Mr Robert Kakuru told Monitor in an interview that procuring the necessary equipment and availing learning materials should have been prioritised to enhance teaching and learning at Uganda’s first and largest university.

“We see the establishment but, on the other side, as the leader of the staff association, if you ask me honestly, I would have told you the students should have been the priority of the university because the university is grappling with many challenges and the inadequacies in the teaching equipment. If you visit our laboratories, you can be shocked in many colleges,” Mr Kakuru said.

Last week, Makerere University commissioned two biometric management systems to monitor staff and student attendance at the institution.

The digital Staff Access System and Student Attendance System hosted at the College of Computing and Information Science have already been deployed at all teaching facility entrances.

The systems capture both facial features and thumbprints of lecturers.

It addition, the system was connected to the students’ platform to enable them identify and report to management lecturers who do not show up for lectures as expected.

According to the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, the system is intended to check staff absenteeism and fraudulent practices.

However, Mr Kakuru said the resources that were injected into the biometric systems should have been prioritized to enhance teaching and learning. 

He explained that teaching and learning are facilitated by completely different variables, including availability of teaching equipment and materials, not the biometrics.

He noted that the biometrics may enable the university managers to monitor lecturers, but it is unlikely to enhance teaching, if other gaps are not addressed. 

“If you are talking about me being available, yes I can be available, I can teach, but without the teaching equipment, does that enhance teaching and learning?  Certainly not. I my own reservations about the system being the one to enable the lecturers to fulfill their mandate. People work not because of the biometrics,” Mr Kakuru said.

He explained that whereas it is the mandate of the University Council to come up with such initiatives, there are concerns regarding that system and how it will operate.

Mr Kakuru said the academic staff are waiting for the framework for the systems in question to be put in place by the council, to be able to understand how biometric is going to work out.

“The fact that we are waiting for the framework, which is approved by the university council to understand how this will work and how this will enable the monitoring of teaching and learning. It can only monitor, but it cannot enhance. 

Vincent Lubega Nsamba, the guild President of Makerere University concurred with Mr Kakuru’s stand that installation of biometric system was not a priority.

“Absolutely, it is not a priority for a university where we have dilapidated halls of residencies, where we have inadequate security lights and security personnel on our halls of residencies, where we have libraries that are incapacitated, where sockets in libraries are not working.  We have a lot of issues as the Student Fraternity. , “ Mr Lubega said.

He also revealed that the Wi-Fi connectivity is always on and off.

Mr Lubega however, acknowledged that installation of biometric systems is key in improving service delivery but requested that other pressing issues affecting students should equally be given the attention it deserves.