Ugandan Universities lost in a sea of uncertainty.

By Kawe Komugisha

Kampala, Uganda (RTN)-The very first step taken in instituting the nationwide lockdown in Uganda, was the closure of all schools and tertiary institutions by H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, on 18th March 2020. So from then on up to date, all students have been stuck at home with their education paused until further notice.

This has also made the educational journey of University students come to a halt. Especially the finalists who expected to have joined the workforce by now. An example is the finalists of Makerere University that were set to conclude their studies around mid-May. Through every presidential address, students listened hopefully, waiting to hear about the reopening of schools in vain.

A ray of hope came in with the presidential address on 19th May, with educational institutions expected to open on 4th June. Universities though, have gone ahead to independently set their own dates for reopening. Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) is set to reopen on 8th June and close on 7th August, while the Mukono based Uganda Christian University (UCU) is slated to open on the same date. Kyambogo University is most likely to allow finalists to report on either 20th June or 28th June 2020.

Makerere University however, is experiencing a lot of uncertainty around its reopening for finalists. It all started with a letter assumed to be from the warden of Livingstone Hall, released on 25th May, requesting all non-finalist students to remove their property from the rooms.

This came as a surprise to many, seeing as the University is still closed and at that point transport was still suspended. Many students queried how they and their counterparts were expected to move to a closed university to pick their property. It also brought into question the students in border districts who had travelled there due to the lockdown and are now stuck there. Another letter, from the Dean of students, followed on 26th May, stating that the previous letter was unsigned (though it was stamped) and should therefore, be disregarded.

This came as a relief to many students due to the concerns mentioned above. On the same date, a third letter was circulated, form the office of the vice chancellor, showing the outcome of a meeting that had just been held. The letter stated that the university would open on 20th June and close the semester on 7th August.

A communique was later posted on the official Makerere University social platform that the contents of the letter were merely proposals meant to be discussed by management and later, the University Council, that is to say, they are inconclusive. The vice chancellor re-echoed this position on his official social platform, adding that the date for reopening would depend on the guidelines issued by the government.

This back and forth has left the Makerere University finalists anxious and confused, as their education hangs in the balance. Furthermore, the pending distribution of masks presents a challenge to the above dates because it is expected to take at least a month according to Dr Diana Atwine.