Makerere law school to increase enrolment 

Makerere University  officials during the groundbreaking  ceremony of the new Makerere School of Law at the university on July 6, 2021. PHOTO / ABUBAKER LUBOWA
 

What you need to know:

  • “You should provide solutions to problems the university is  facing.  It does not make sense for our students to shine outside yet the university is struggling with legal cases,” Ms Lorna Magara, Makerere University Council chairperson

Officials from Makerere University’s School of Law have agreed to increase admission from 300 to 500 students per academic year after the school gets a new home.
 The revelation was made yesterday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new home for Makerere University School of Law.  
The new developments follow the University Council’s decision to allocate Shs7.3b for the construction of the new building  that will accommodate more staff and law students.

 The principal of the School of Law , Prof Christopher Mbazira, yesterday told Daily Monitor that previously, the school could not increase students’ enrolment because they had low capacity.
 Prof Mbazira said the school has since 1971 been operating from dilapidated structures that were long condemned by the city authorities.

  “Since 1971, we have not had any major infrastructure overhaul so this will enhance our capacity to train more lawyers. For now, we have a population of 1,000 students and an academic population of 40,” Prof Mbazira said.
 He added “As you can see, our infrastructure doesn’t allow us to increase the number of students or even expand the faculty. Once the new structure is complete, we shall expand both the staff and student population.”  

 Prof Mbazira also explained that the university wants to pass out 1,000 graduates every academic year, because various sectors in the country require legal services.
 Top judges and lawyers in the country have gone through the Makerere University School of Law but the structures have remained static and dilapidated.

 Annually, more than 3,000 students sit pre-entry exams at this school but only 300 qualify for the course.
 The deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration, Dr Josephine Nabukenya, said Shs4b is available in this financial year budget and the balance will be provided subsequently to ensure that the building is completed in eight months. 

The new building will house lecture rooms, staff offices, library and  conference rooms, among others.
The Makerere University Council chairperson, Ms Lorna Magara, asked the School of Law to handle the issue of getting intellectual property and patent rights of staff in public universities who innovate various medicines and items.
 Ms Magara said various staff at Makerere have innovated tick vaccines, Covid-19 testing kits and Covidex from one staff of  Mbarara University. 
She explained that once production starts, other people take away the patent rights of innovation done by staff in public universities.

“You should provide solutions to problems the university is  facing.  It does not make sense for our students to shine outside yet the university is struggling with legal cases,” she said.
 She added: “In the past, a lot of things have been innovated, but we have lost funds because patent rights are taken by some individuals.”