1 - On Student Access and Equity in a Reforming University: Makerere in the 1990s and Beyond
Journal of Higher Education in Africa,
Vol. 4 No. 2 (2006): Journal of Higher Education in Africa
Abstract
This paper examines issues of access and equity in the context of the far-ranging reforms that have been taking place at Makerere University and in the Ugandan higher education system generally since the early 1990s. The analysis attempts to map out the contours of student access over time, outlining the major fault lines in student diversities which include, among others, location, class and gender, as well as the state (university) response to these diversities in the context of market based reforms. We argue that key to the reform programme was a reduction in the state’s financial commitment in higher education and the implementation of alternative financial strategies especially relating to the introduction of the private sponsorship programme in 1992. Private sponsorship greatly expanded the intake of fee-paying students, and the total number of students in higher education in Uganda has ex- panded enormously. However, these apparent gains in terms of access to higher education have been offset by lack of necessary investment in facilities, with result- ing problems of over-crowding, excessive teaching loads, large classes and falling standards. The analysis also interrogates the ways in which government/private dynamic plays out in the context of a highly fractured education system, dominated by urban-based schools, particularly located in the south of the country, and how the various affirmative actions measures have in a way, reproduced social and class privilege.
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- Ahimbisibwe, F., 2005, ‘District Quota: New System, Old Woes’, New Vision, July 14.
- Ajayi, A.G.L. and Johnson, A., 1996, The African Experience with Higher Educa- tion. Accra: Association of African Universities.
- Altbach, P., 2005, ‘Contradictions of Academic Development: Exploiting the Pro- fessoriate and Weakening the University’, International Higher Education News- letter, Boston: Centre for International Higher Education.
- GMD (Gender Mainstreaming Division), 2004, A Situation Analysis Makerere University Gender Terrain, unpublished paper, Kampala.
- Kasozi, A.B.K., 2003, University Education in Uganda: Challenges and Opportu- nities for Reform, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Kwesiga, C.J., 2002, From Elite to Mass Higher Education in Uganda: The Slough- ing of Makerere University, Paper presented at the International Conference on Women’s Worlds: Gains and Challenges, July 22-26, Makerere University, Kam- pala.
- Kwesiga, C.J., 2000, Women’s Access to Higher Education in Africa: Uganda’s Experience, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Kwesiga, C.J., 1998, Gender and Development at Makerere University: Progress and Prospects, Paper Presented at a Workshop on: Mainstreaming gender at Makerere University, Kampala: Department of Women and Gender Studies, May 15-11.
- Makerere University Gender Mainstreaming Division, 2004, A Situation Analysis Makerere University Gender Terrain, Unpublished Paper, Kampala.
- Ministry of Education and Sports, 2004, Statistical Abstract for Secondary Schools Facilities, Kampala: Republic of Uganda.
- Musisi, N.B., and Muwanga, N.K., 2003, Makerere University in Transition 1993– 2000, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Nakanyike, B.M., 1992, ‘Colonial and Missionary Education: Women and Domes- ticity in Uganda, 1900–45’, in K.T. Hansen African Encounters with Domestic- ity, Rutgers University Press.
- Nyaigotti-Chacha, C., 2004, ‘Public Universities, Private Funding: The Challenges in East Africa’, P. Tiyambe Zeleza and A. Olukoshi, eds., African Universities in the Twenty-First Century, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Obong, Q., 2004, Academic Dilemmas under Neo-Liberal Education Reforms: A Review of Makerere University, Uganda, in P. Tiyambe Zeleza and A. Olukoshi (eds.) African Universities in the Twenty-First Century, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Ramsay, E. et al., 1998, Higher Education Access and Equity for Low SES School Leavers, Commonwealth of Australia.
- Tamale, S., 1999, When Hens Begin to Crow: Gender and Parliamentary Politics in Uganda , Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- World Bank, 2001, A Chance to Learn: Knowledge and Finance for Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: World Bank.
References
Ahimbisibwe, F., 2005, ‘District Quota: New System, Old Woes’, New Vision, July 14.
Ajayi, A.G.L. and Johnson, A., 1996, The African Experience with Higher Educa- tion. Accra: Association of African Universities.
Altbach, P., 2005, ‘Contradictions of Academic Development: Exploiting the Pro- fessoriate and Weakening the University’, International Higher Education News- letter, Boston: Centre for International Higher Education.
GMD (Gender Mainstreaming Division), 2004, A Situation Analysis Makerere University Gender Terrain, unpublished paper, Kampala.
Kasozi, A.B.K., 2003, University Education in Uganda: Challenges and Opportu- nities for Reform, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Kwesiga, C.J., 2002, From Elite to Mass Higher Education in Uganda: The Slough- ing of Makerere University, Paper presented at the International Conference on Women’s Worlds: Gains and Challenges, July 22-26, Makerere University, Kam- pala.
Kwesiga, C.J., 2000, Women’s Access to Higher Education in Africa: Uganda’s Experience, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Kwesiga, C.J., 1998, Gender and Development at Makerere University: Progress and Prospects, Paper Presented at a Workshop on: Mainstreaming gender at Makerere University, Kampala: Department of Women and Gender Studies, May 15-11.
Makerere University Gender Mainstreaming Division, 2004, A Situation Analysis Makerere University Gender Terrain, Unpublished Paper, Kampala.
Ministry of Education and Sports, 2004, Statistical Abstract for Secondary Schools Facilities, Kampala: Republic of Uganda.
Musisi, N.B., and Muwanga, N.K., 2003, Makerere University in Transition 1993– 2000, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Nakanyike, B.M., 1992, ‘Colonial and Missionary Education: Women and Domes- ticity in Uganda, 1900–45’, in K.T. Hansen African Encounters with Domestic- ity, Rutgers University Press.
Nyaigotti-Chacha, C., 2004, ‘Public Universities, Private Funding: The Challenges in East Africa’, P. Tiyambe Zeleza and A. Olukoshi, eds., African Universities in the Twenty-First Century, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Obong, Q., 2004, Academic Dilemmas under Neo-Liberal Education Reforms: A Review of Makerere University, Uganda, in P. Tiyambe Zeleza and A. Olukoshi (eds.) African Universities in the Twenty-First Century, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Ramsay, E. et al., 1998, Higher Education Access and Equity for Low SES School Leavers, Commonwealth of Australia.
Tamale, S., 1999, When Hens Begin to Crow: Gender and Parliamentary Politics in Uganda , Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
World Bank, 2001, A Chance to Learn: Knowledge and Finance for Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: World Bank.