Collaborate to share knowledge and skills, Minister Muyingo urges universities

The State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo has urged public and private universities to embrace collaborations as a platform to share knowledge skills and attitudes with other institutions in the country to empower youth with skills for the 21st century as role models for modern technology.

Minister Muyingo made specific reference to the new technology of embracing blended learning platforms where all academic programs are fully accredited by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) for open distance electronic learning (ODeL) delivery.

“I like that this university (ISBAT) has introduced a new version of information and communications technology system that integrates the student’s management system, hybrid learning management system, and a job portal which I believe is the first of its kind in Uganda,” Muyingo said.

He adds “Vice-chancellors present, please carry the message. Collaboration before you travel abroad starts with what you have in your country. I visit a university every week and each has something to offer to the others. Take advantage of that and strengthen the collaborations.”

The minister made these remarks on Friday while presiding over the sixteenth graduation ceremony of International Business Science and Technology (ISBAT) University at Hotel Africana in Kampala where over 450 students were awarded degrees and diplomas in different courses.

Muyingo also noted that the government is committed to increasing access to higher education while ensuring that high standards are maintained to give graduates a global competitive advantage.

“I encourage universities and other learning institutions to reinforce their systems by establishing functional departments dedicated to quality assurance. There shouldn’t be any compromise on quality. All your courses should be submitted for assessment on time to ensure that they remain relevant and accredited by the regulator. Make NCHE your friend and neighbor to check what’s going on,” he said.

It should be noted that out of the 450 graduands who were awarded degrees and diplomas in different courses, 101 were beneficiaries of the Higher Education Students Financing Board (HESFB), a government agency under the Ministry of Education and Sports mandated to offer loans and scholarships to Ugandans who wish to pursue higher education. 

The Executive Director of the board, Mr Michael Wanyama, said the Government does not only support public universities but also extends financial support to private universities to positively impact university budgets in significant measures.

“As a parent, when you enroll the students onto the loan scheme, we make demands of them. They must perform well in their studies. To make sure this is actualised, it is our policy not to pay for course units that students retake. We emphasize discipline and our students are required to be extremely disciplined and any case of indiscipline can be an automatic dismissal from the scheme,” Wanyama said.

To date, the loan scheme has supported a total of 13,405 learners across 22 Universities, both private chartered and public, and 36 other tertiary institutions.

The Chancellor of Isbat University, Fred Jachan Omach urged graduates to aim higher and get master's and doctorate degrees to acquire lead positions.

“This is only the beginning. Employers want graduates who possess employability skills to build the nation and serve humanity to the best of their ability and capabilities. Be ready to discharge your duties in various sectors of the economy because you are now practically talented graduates,” Omach concluded.