Makerere University, on Thursday, celebrated 100 years of existence with calls to deepen the focus on science and research.
Prof George Mondo Kagonyera, the former chancellor of Makerere l praised President Yoweri Museveni for his call to put more emphasis on science and research other than humanities.
Giving an example of what has already been achieved by Makerere through areas of health and agriculture, Kagonyera noted that if research is prioritized everywhere it can bring about tangible results, not for Makerere and Uganda alone but even the entire world.
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni, also pointed out that while the country commemorates the significance of the past 100 years of Makerere, it is high time the institution spearheaded homegrown solutions to Uganda’s problems.
“We must leverage the vast experiences to spur national development. We need to restore what has been broken to set a new path for future generations. I challenge Makarere to step out of the past and intentionally seek to provide solutions to society’s needs. As a government we are committed to supporting you in this endeavor,” she said in her speech read by minister John Chrysostom Muyingo.
President Museveni noted that history shows that innovations and development strides at initial stages such as discovering fire were in Africa but the continent is now stuck with few or no innovations being invented to give solutions to challenges faced by locals.
Museveni said that as Makerere celebrates 100 years there should be a critical audit to understand why Africa is lagging behind and how to move forward. But, he says to unlock the potential that African had developed centuries ago, research and science should be at the forefront thus reiterating his call for Makerere University to focus mainly on science and research to help solve the country’s problem.
Museveni also recognized the college of health sciences for a number of important outputs they had created over the years. Using these instances, the President justified that where science has been applied, there has been good progress.
The President noted that he still believes that scientists should be paid more to challenge those in arts and humanities to also show off their efforts to solve the country’s problems.
The event held at the Freedom Square marked the conclusion of a yearlong celebration that focused on looking at the history of Makerere, honoring the great men and women on whose shoulders the institutions have stood firm, and visualizing the future they aspire.
Established by the colonial government as a small technical institution back in 1922, the institution which had 14 students studying in grass-thatched huts has risen to be one of the most prestigious universities in Africa seeing thousands of graduates from its gates. the university now boasts 35,000 students across its 15 colleges and institutes.
In its hundred years, Makerere university has graduated hundreds of thousands of professionals. The institution has also produced former African leaders including Mwai Kibaki from Kenya, Julius Nyerere, and Benjamin Mkapa both from Tanzania, Joseph Kabira of DRC and Yusufu Lule, Godfrey Binaisa, and Milton Obote.
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