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Balunywa speaks on scrapped MUBS courses

June 14th, 2010 Albert Mucunguzi 1 comment
Balunywa speaks on scrapped MUBS courses Print E-mail
Education
Written by Juliana Nantale
Sunday, 06 June 2010 17:21
Following media reports that Makerere University is to scrap or merge 40 of its programmes, 24 belonging to Nakawa-based MUBS, the principal, Dr. Waswa Balunywa, called a press conference on the issue. During the conference held at 5p.m. on May 28 at MUBS Bugolobi Annex, Balunywa expressed alarm that the Makerere proposal would leave MUBS with only two degree programmes.
He explained that the suggestions were brought forth by a committee that consisted of Makerere staff only, excluding MUBS, an interested party. He likened that to sending him, a business professional, to review Medicine programmes.
Balunywa was incensed that MUBS was neither consulted nor included in the discussions leading up to these proposals. No adequate examination was given to MUBS programmes with regard to their substance, he said.
“MUBS’ programmes were designed with community needs in mind and were well researched on. Besides, other business institutions are offering the same programmes!” he emphasised.
Balunywa further said that some of the programmes up for merging or scrapping are actually the ones with global appeal. He wondered why, as the business world globally is raging about procurement and human resource related issues, the committee found such programmes irrelevant.
He also claimed that Makerere University’s Faculty of Economics and Management (FEMA) appears intent on starting to offer some of MUBS’ programmes, including some on the scrap list.
He alleged that some students applying for certain MUBS’ programmes at Makerere are being advised to switch to FEMA programmes instead.
At the moment, Makerere University is advertising bachelor’s programmes in Business Administration and Commerce at both MUBS and FEMA.
Balunywa is also not amused that some programmes are not being included on Makerere’s official brochure despite having been accepted by the Ministry of Education and advertised in the media.
“The purpose of this press conference is to reassure the public that the programmes advertised still exist and students denied these programmes should demand their rights. The rightful people to demand the scrapping of these programmes should be the users,” he declared.
Balunywa said he had been in touch with Makerere Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba to complain about this issue. Baryamureeba, according to Balunywa, promised to investigate the matter.
However, Baryamureeba has told a media briefing that he sees the law governing the relationship between Makerere University and MUBS as the cause of most of the conflict between the two institutions. He repeatedly refused to accept suggestions that Dr. Balunywa is the problem.
julianabatte@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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OPINION: Prof. Jjuuko’s team must come clean

June 14th, 2010 Albert Mucunguzi 1 comment
OPINION: Prof. Jjuuko’s team must come clean Print E-mail
Education
Written by MOSES ONYOIN
Sunday, 06 June 2010 17:20
The media has for the last three weeks been awash with the findings and recommendations of the committee instituted to reform Makerere University’s academic programmes.
The committee headed by Prof. Frederick Jjuuko was tasked mainly to look into course duplication at the university. Of the programmes lined to be merged or scrapped, according to the media, over 70% are based at MUBS.
I strongly feel that not enough professional investigation and consultation was done by the committee before arriving at such recommendations.
First, I would like to point out that the advances and the strategic fusions that have evolved over time have and are still having the biggest influences on how business is run today. World over, universities are developing their programme structures and courses deductively (outside in) as opposed to inductively (inside out). This means that the relevance of the programme should be measured in terms of how well the knowledge and skills gained adequately address the needs of the environment not on what the university feels the environment should do. In fact, a university is supposed to get insights from outside to support its thoughts and actions; not the reverse. That to me is the essence of research. I am worried (if the news reports are anything to go by) that with the trend of pushing for traditionalism in study programmes, we are bound to have products of these unresponsive programmes gathering dust on the shelves. If Makerere genuinely feels that programmes like Bachelor of Human Resource Management, Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management, Bachelor of International Business, which have been around since 2002/2003 academic year, have until now no independent standing but deserve to be fused together or relegated to be options under BBA or B.Com, then surely the economy is going to lose out and egos would have superseded reason.

QUESTIONABLE

Secondly, the universality of the recommendations and their ability to guide tertiary education are questionable. Just recently, Kyambogo University, a public university, advertised a Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics degree, a programme that according to the Prof. Jjuuko-led committee is a regurgitation of the existing business programmes.
Remember, many programmes that Makerere is scrapping on the basis that they should be options under either Bachelor of Business Administration or Bachelor of Commerce have actually been benchmarks for many universities in the region and they have also been accepted by many Ugandan stakeholders. It is amazing that Makerere is willing to operationalise these recommendations next academic year in total disregard of other stakeholders’ views.
Did the Juuko committee, for example, consult with employers to get their opinions; did it consult with other universities in the region; did it click on the web to compare notes with world benchmark universities like Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Stanford , University of California Berkeley, Cornell  in terms of programme diversity? Many of such questions can and will, definitely, be asked. But the biggest questions that immediately come to an ordinary observer’s mind are: was the Prof. Jjuuko committee addressing its recommendations (especially on scrapping) on the backdrop of MUBS-MUK strained relationship, on the form or the substance in these programmes?
Finally, it is an obvious fact that nobody likes to repeat oneself several times. As such, no one would derive much value by studying the same things more than once. If this is the case with MUBS programmes, then these are internal operational lapses that can be sorted out easily without alarming many other stakeholders like us. But stating that bachelor’s degrees such as in HRM, Procurement, Entrepreneurship, International Business, which highlight our capacity to follow the tide in the business environment have no independent place in academia is certainly outrageous.

The author is a Human Resource Management practitioner
onyoin@hotmail.com
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Makerere backs down as MUBS starts another fight

June 14th, 2010 Albert Mucunguzi 1 comment
Makerere backs down as MUBS starts another fight Print E-mail
Education
Written by Moses Talemwa
Sunday, 06 June 2010 17:21
A new team of experts is set to start work on the rationalisation of courses at Makerere University Business School after the affiliated institution rejected the Prof. Frederick Jjuuko report. Prof. Jjuuko’s ‘The report of adhoc committee on academic programme restructuring’ was presented to the Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, last month and later approved by the University Senate.
It recommends that several courses, most of them taught by MUBS, Makerere’s Nakawa-based affiliate, be scrapped or merged. But MUBS has rejected these proposals and vowed to continue teaching the condemned courses if need be.
The new friction rekindles the power struggle that has existed between the two institutions since MUBS was formed in 1997.
While Makerere officials maintain that there is no conflict between the two institutions, MUBS’ rejection of the report of a 14-member committee set up by the Vice Chancellor and approved by the Senate points to yet another standoff.
Prof. Baryamureeba told Observer School last week that Makerere has now decided to establish an independent committee to look into MUBS’ grievances. Whatever decision reached by this committee will be final, he said.
“If the committee resolves to keep the courses, we shall stick with them; if, however, it asks us to scrap them, that will be it,” Baryamureeba declared.
The new committee will start work in July and report in December 2010, before a resolution is made in February 2011, by the Senate.
Baryamureeba explained that MUBS will recommend four independent members to the committee, while the remaining four will be appointed by Makerere University.
“The committee, which will have respected academicians with no formal attachment to either Makerere or MUBS, shall also have the same terms of reference as the Jjuuko committee,” Baryamureeba said.
Makerere and MUBS have had a love-hate relationship over the years.
Upon his appointment as Vice Chancellor in December 2009, Baryamureeba sought to cool emotions by making his first visit outside office to Nakawa, where he met Balunywa and the two agreed to work together amicably for the good of the university. However, the honeymoon appears to have ended over the resolutions of the Prof. Jjuuko committee report.
Of the 40 courses that were set aside for scrapping by the Jjuuko report, 24 are offered at MUBS.
The Jjuuko committee started its work in December 2009 and ended in May 2010, with members visiting each faculty and department of the university, including those based at MUBS. They interviewed the teaching staff about the course content, among other things. Indeed, according to the report, there are indications that some of the MUBS staff agreed that many of the courses should be phased out.
However, after the report findings were made public, MUBS broke ranks.
In fact, Balunywa told the press last week that MUBS had not been consulted before the recommendations were made.

NO COMMENT

The MUBS Spokesman, Peter Odoki, told Observer School that he would not comment on the matter as he had not seen the report.
When asked what the problem is between the two institutions during a recent media briefing recently, Baryamureeba indirectly blamed the law governing their relations.
Under the law, MUBS is an independent institution, affiliated to Makerere for the award of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees only. As such, Makerere’s control over MUBS is limited.
mtalemwa@observer.ug
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