Prof. Mamdani on the Makerere University Crisis

17 Nov, 2016,

By Prof. Mahmood Mamdani

Makerere University has closed again. The decision has come from the President of Uganda with no indication as to when the university will reopen.

 

This is an opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the recurrent problem that has been Makerere. This means going beyond pointing fingers at individuals to making an overall evaluation of the problem.

- See more at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1440203/makerere-crisis-radi…

Source: New Vision

The Makerere Crisis: Time for a radical rethink

By Admin

Added 16th November 2016 07:10 PM

- See more at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1440203/makerere-crisis-radi…

The Makerere Crisis: Time for a Radical Rethink.
By Prof. Mahmood Mamdani
				
Makerere University has closed again. The decision has come from the President of Uganda with no indication as to when the university will reopen.

This is an opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the recurrent problem that has been Makerere. This means going beyond pointing fingers at individuals to making an overall evaluation of the problem.

The Makerere problem has grown acute over the past three NRM decades. Its dimensions are both structural, arising from the long term policy framework, and short term, stemming from bad leadership.
 
The policy framework, which was set in place towards the end of the 1980s by the World Bank, is based on three assumptions. 

One, that the colonial education system had been elitist, and was kept going through constant state subsidies. 

Two, that higher education is a business, and just as with any business, the consumer (the student’s family) must pay the price of the product. 

Three, the way to do this is to open the gates of the university to fee-paying students, so that additional revenue from fees can alleviate the financial burden on government.Three decades of experience show that only the first assumption was right. The other two have made for the disaster we face today.

Read more at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1440203/makerere-crisis-radi…