Makerere University Lecturers, represented by the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa), have strongly opposed the introduction of a biometric staff attendance management system at the university. This decision was made during an Emergency General Assembly on October 20, 2023.
The university had planned to implement a biometric system to improve staff compliance with attendance requirements, but Muasa members expressed several concerns:
They believe that the introduction of the biometric system lacked adequate consultation and stakeholder engagement.
Dr. Robert Kakuru, the Muasa Chairperson and General Secretary, Christine Mpyangu Mbabazi, in a letter argued that the system primarily focused on monitoring physical attendance from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They emphasized that academic staff performance should be assessed based on teaching, research, publications, community service, assessments, and networking for research and grants, rather than just physical presence.
Muasa stated that the system could be regressive and lead to staff resignations, as it may not accurately measure staff productivity in terms of their actual contributions to the university.
Muasa believes that the proposed biometric system does not align with the university’s academic goals and should be reconsidered in favor of more consultative and performance-focused methods for monitoring staff.
In an October 12, 2023 letter, addressed to all Members of Staff and the University Council, Kiranda explained that the Government is implementing an integrated Human Capital Management System (HCM) to automate Human Resource Management functions in the Public Service. As a result, the University Council, during its special meeting on March 9, 2023, resolved to procure and deploy a biometric staff management system to improve staff adherence to time and attendance of duty. This biometric system is to be integrated with the HCM attendance module.
Comments are closed.