We are underfunded, says Mbarara university boss
This file photo shows students seated near Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) gate. The MUST deputy Vice Chancellor in-charge of Academics, Prof Nixon Kamukama, says due to underfunding, they are understaffed and that even the few lecturers they have are demoralised
What you need to know:
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) started in 1989 and was the second public university after Makerere University. A total of 14,260 students have gone through the university since its inception.
As Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) marks 30 years of existence this month, the institution is grappling with challenges of underfunding and understaffing.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor in-charge of Academics, Prof Nixon Kamukama, on Tuesday said funding challenges have not only led the university to admit few students but have forced the competent staff to leave and go to work either in other institutions or abroad.
“We have serious funding challenges specifically the wage bill. We cannot recruit and promote our staff. We have only 21 per cent of the staff that we are supposed to have. Currently, we cannot recruit or promote our staff because government has halted this that it does not have enough money,” Prof Kamukama said.
He added: “Someone is supposed to be a professor or senior lecturer but has remained at the position of an assistant lecturer, you cannot grow old as an assistant lecturer when you are supposed to be a professor. Our staff get demoralised and go to these other small universities and abroad.”
The Academic Registrar, Ms Martha Kyoshaba Twinamatsiko, said although they have high quality academic programmes that can transform communities, this cannot be achieved because of limited funding.
“We have high quality programmes but we limit the number of students because of funding challenges. For example, we always get more than 900 applications for medical programmes but end taking up only 80 because of limited facilities and manpower. This contradicts our mission,” Ms Kyoshaba said.
The officials appealed to government to increase funding to the university so that it is able to realise its mission of transforming communities.
“Our students are not always confined in lecturer rooms; they go out in community, work and live with people. Medical students go and live in communities for three to eight weeks, we have twinning programme where students from interdisciplinary studies go out to help communities. All this is geared towards transforming communities,” Ms Kyoshaba said.
About must
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) started in 1989 and was the second public university after Makerere University. A total of 14,260 students have gone through the university since its inception.
The university will be celebrating 30 years of existence on October 26. On the same day, it will hold the 26th graduation where 1,032 students will get diplomas and degrees.
The university mission is ‘to provide quality and relevant education at national and international level with particular emphasis on science and technology and its application to community development.’
