Kyambogo University has made significant strides, largely due to the introduction of various policies, according to Vice-Chancellor Professor Elly Katunguka Rwakishaya. Speaking during a media partnership dinner with editors from selected media houses at Hotel Africana’s Kagera Hall on Wednesday evening, Professor Katunguka highlighted the positive changes at the university.
“I want to note that Kyambogo University has changed a lot. It used to be dominated by strikes, but things have changed. We are now concentrating on tracking the priorities set by our council,” he said.
Professor Katunguka attributed the progress to several policies that have contributed to the institution’s stability. “As part of institutional development, we have developed many policies. People now know how they are going to be promoted and how they will leave the university,” he explained.
One significant policy change relates to student meals. “Student strikes would even start from discontent about meals. The cooks would also wait until students were about to sit for exams to lay down their tools. But this is no longer the case,” he added, noting that the university has since privatized the provision of student meals.
The university is also focused on developing its structures. “We now have the facilities and equipment, and we are able to move forward. We now have ICT laboratories, which have been a focus of our council,” he said. Additionally, the university has developed an Information Management System to improve the management of student records.
“Any university that is going to do meaningful business must move away from manual systems and embrace ICT systems,” he emphasized.
Professor Katunguka praised the media for highlighting the activities at the university. “As a university, we want to acknowledge the role you play in promoting our work and giving us visibility. In Uganda, we now have 53 universities and we are competing,” he said.
During the event, he launched a publication featuring profiles and contacts of key university academic staff to facilitate information sharing with the media. “Sometimes we have seen you quoting people with less competence on certain subjects. We think interacting with the experts will improve the debate. I implore my colleagues to strengthen research and generate new knowledge,” he urged.
Jennifer Sibo, the Senior Communication Officer at Kyambogo University, explained that the purpose of the dinner was to strengthen their partnership with the media. “We have a lot of things happening at Kyambogo University that the media isn’t aware of. While the media also has a lot going on that we don’t know about,” she said.
