Will fellow Ugandans versed in Biological sciences help us understand what is at stake here?
We have Dr Nakanyike-Musisi of Makerere Institute of Social Research, whose core research is "Abakyala a Baganda n'empisa zabwe" i.e. cultural norms of Baganda women; and guess what, she is the arbiter of whether Veterinary Science, Molecular Biology, Agriculture etc.... should merge!!!!
I find the whole excercise bizarre.
Why did these Microbiology professors ever accept this kind of nonsense?
I am afraid all the brains have run out of the country and the country is left in the hands of fools, starting from Museveni, Ssebana-Kizito, the Onyango-Obbos of this world, etc....
Didn't you see Dr Abel Rwendeire throw in the towel, leaving the nonsensical circus of our 'cabinet', and now is in Geneva?
Guys, our country is bleeding. There is no lower limit in the rotting of countries.
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MUK: Will Agric marry Vet? By Alex B. Atuhaire. September 21, 2003
Power struggles that characterised the development of Makerere University Business School, Nakawa almost stalled the concept of formation of constituent colleges of Makerere University. So is the planned merger of the faculties of Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry together with Makerere Institute of Environment and Department of Zoology into a college a mistake or the way forward, writes Sunday Monitor's Alex B. Atuhaire.
The five faculties are expected to form one unit, the Makerere University College of Food, Life and Environmental Sciences, according to proposals by a university committee named the Plan 4-Five Committee.
According to Dr Nakanyike Musisi, the chairperson of the committee, the university needs the college systems to improve efficiency in its core activities.
"Makerere as a leading national institution is obliged to provide appropriately trained human resources. But our graduates have been found lacking in skills such as problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches needed to jumpstart the country's transformation process. We are trying to make sure that we provide well trained and practical oriented professionals," Nakanyike told Sunday Monitor last week.
Nakanyike Musisi is the Director of Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR).
In its five-year strategic plan of 2000/1-2005/6, the university indeed prioritised evolution of faculties into colleges as one of the strategic goals to improve university management and consolidate the restructuring process into decentralised units.
The Ministry of Public Service funds the restructuring plan in an attempt to dislodge over centralisation, which has limited efficiency and effectiveness.
Justification for formation of colleges
The formation of colleges is provided for in the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001.
But Makerere vice chancellor Prof. John Ssebuwufu says that the increase in student's population by 500 percent in 2003 requires decentralisation of core functions for efficient management.
Makerere's annual student intake is expected to climb to about 26,000 in 2006 from 14,000 in 2000 and 2000 in 1990.
"The rapid changes taking place in extension and research services demand a reciprocal re-organisation of training human resources," Ssebuwufu said in a presentation at Botanical Beach Hotel, Entebbe, on August 23.
The VC says the colleges would decongest the centre and have more autonomy in terms of resource mobilisation and utilisation, administration as well as organisation of academic programmes.
Vets reject move
While the merger of faculties of Arts and Social Sciences is progressing well, the board of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has spat at suggestions of a merger with Agriculture and Forestry.
"Veterinary service is a very specialised course and is post graduate in many universities. There is no way it can be combined with crop science," the board says in an August 21 resolution.
The board says that the overlap between courses offered in agriculture and veterinary medicine is only about 10 percent and there is therefore little, if any duplication between the two faculties.
The dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Prof. Elly Katunguka Rwakishaya confirmed in an interview with Sunday Monitor that his faculty was not interested in the planned merger and wants to develop its own College of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.
He said that the faculty has planned this since 1998 and wants it to stand alone as a school.
"We have a path of growth, which we want to follow. We don't want to merge with agriculture. You can't train a vet to advise on banana growing. It can't work," Katunguka said during a telephone interview.
He said his faculty's path is expected to address wider scope of issues including specialisation in laboratory technology, molecular biology, animal production and wildlife.
Merger committee biased?
Dr Nankanyike Musisi dismissed suggestions by the faculty of Veterinary Medicine board that the committee's composition was skewed towards agriculture. Veterinary accuses the committee of having worked under 'a planned strong lobby' by the faculty of Agriculture.
She said the dean, Prof. Katunguuka and his deputy were among the four people from Vet who sat on the committee.
"Agriculture was only represented by five people and others came from outside," she said.
Nakanyike says that even then, the committee has made two recommendations that would enable Veterinary to form its own college.
"Nobody will force them to merge. They can form their own college but you have to consider critical mass. You have to make sure that the numbers are sustainable," she said.
Vets say Agriculture is failure
Veterinary looks at agriculture as a failure. An official in Vet says their faculty doesn't want marriage with Agriculture and Forestry because they are courses facing extinction.
"Changes in agricultural sector in this country have often been done hurriedly and failed. For example, the unified extension system and disease control. The costs of reversing these policies have been costly to say the least," the Vet board says.
"Given that the numerous structural adjustments have not resulted in functional adjustments, should we still continue with such approach?" they asked in the resolution.
Power wrangle
Other sources told Sunday Monitor that there is a likelihood of power wrangle as a retired former dean of one of the faculties eyes the post of director of the new college.
That partly explains why a wrangle has developed at the stage when the merger is expected to take off.
However, Nakanyike maintains there is no row. "That row is imaginary. Maybe it's in people's psyche," she said.
Past experiences
Makerere's concept of formation of constituent colleges kicked-off on a wrong note when its first move, the formation of Makerere University Business School in 1998 later resulted into serious administrative wrangles.
MUBS bosses have been at constant loggerheads with top administrators at Makerere over the path of growth of the Nakawa based school.
As an official in Vet told Sunday Monitor, Veterinary-Agriculture row could yet follow another long-standing wrangle.
"Merging us will not allow us grow. It will cause problems because we will spend a lot of time fighting," he said.
Well, there comes another test for the university administration.
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
Mitayo Potosi
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