Speaking at the Symposium on National Transformation hosted by Makerere University, Museveni challenged the academia to reflect on how societies in the precolonial times organized politically and economically.  

“It is good for the education system to discover how those societies were organized. Once you know how they were organized, then you assess how they behaved when they faced challenges of external actors” he said

The Symposium on National Transformation was organized under the theme, The role of universities in responding to Africa’s problems and development needs on 30th March 2023.

The Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Jessica Alupo speaking at the event

In a speech delivered by the Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Jessica Rose Epel Alupo, the president elaborated on the urgent need for universities to focus more on interpreting philosophy for social change.

He highlighted that Economics, for instance, should stress how raw materials are handled, the need for value addition through manufacturing, expanding the money economy, and expanding the services sector. He argued that this would enable Africa to move to an integrated, independent, self-sustaining national economy.

On his end, The Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, recognized the institution’s effort in developing Uganda's knowledge economy to respond to societal challenges.

"Strategic decision has been taken to use some of the funding for Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) to support Ph.D. students to conduct fieldwork and write their theses," he said 

He explained that the goal is to see a scholarship or loan scheme dedicated to graduate students as a response to the exploding population and the urgent need to come up with solutions to provide meaningful employment for the youth.

The Director General of the Institute of National Transformation and Keynoter, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu

The Keynote speaker, Director General of the Institute of National Transformation based in Lagos Nigeria, Professor Vincent Anigbogu advised tertiary institutions to emphasize teaching, basic research, and community service for change to happen. He further elaborated that education for social change focuses on how knowledge will be converted for social impact.

"The question becomes, of those ideas and publications I have generated, how many of them have been converted to change society? until we come to that, our people will continue to suffer"

Additionally, The Chairperson of the Makerere University Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara deliberated that the third-generation universities must impact society and therefore Makerere University has to restructure and reposition itself for the next 100 years.

Mrs. Lorna Magara, the Chairperson of the Makerere University Council.

"Our blueprint must be a research-led university, responding to national, regional, and global developmental challenges through innovations in teaching and learning to respond to the changing environment," she added.

The Symposium was graced by a cross section of policy makers, academia from universities across Uganda and key government technocrats. Some of these included the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, Makerere University, Prof. Umar Kakumba, Executive Director Kampala Capital City Authority, Ms. Dorothy Kisaka, Vice Chancellor Kabale University, Prof. Joy Constance Kwesiga, the Chairperson Centre for Advanced Strategic Leadership, Dr. James Magara, and the Deputy Chairperson National Planning Authority, Prof. Obwoya Kinyera Sam.

Tap to Download President Museveni's Full Speech

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