Makerere University will not receive any additional funding for research for the 2019/2020 financial year. The Education Committee of Parliament has advised Makerere University to operate within the Shs30bn provided in the budget. The money was provided following the end of the 20year collaborative partnership between Makerere University and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) which has been the biggest funder of research at the University. On Tuesday, Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe briefed the Education Committee chaired by Pallisa County MP, Jacob Opolot about the end of the partnership, presenting the need for additional funding for research from government.
Asked by the Rubaga North MP, Moses Kasibante how much the university was receiving from SIDA towards research, Nawangwe, said an allocation of Shs50bn annually would be adequate for the institution to carry out its mandate. The Committee chairperson, Jacob Opolot said the committee couldn’t make any commitments for more research funding and appealed to the University to work within their means. As of December 2018, the Swedish government had injected up to $105m, approximately Shs392bn to public Universities in Uganda for research. According to Per Lindgarde, the Swedish Ambassador to Uganda, the current research programme is running until June 2020 and it is the final phase of the programme.
The activities under this phase rotate around 17 projects spread across teaching and the service units in a network that includes 5 Ugandan Public Universities and 11 Swedish Universities as well as Research Institutes. SIDA’s partnership with Makerere and other Public Universities was aimed at increasing the capacity to generate knowledge and promote capacity for research required for national development. Through the partnership, Universities benefited from joint supervision and staff training.
According to Professor Buyinza Mukadasi, the Director of Research and Graduate training at Makerere University, over 250 staffs have completed PhDs, 100 masters and 50 post-doctoral fellows have completed their programs since the cooperation began in 2000.
The other Public Universities that have benefited from SIDA research funding through training of staff in supervision, mentorship, research management and grant proposal writing include Busitema, Kyambogo, and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. According to Makerere University policy statement for current financial year, Shs743m was provided by government towards research. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225.
