May 15, 2018
We went back to school today—actually, to two kinds of educational institutions. For about three hours, we shared teaching ideas and research possibilities with faculty from the College of Business at Makere University, which the dean described as the “Harvard of Africa.”
The 96 year old school is the oldest in Uganda, and probably the largest. As we drove on our tour of the campus, I realized that big universities have colleges for subjects we barely acknowledge at schools of 1800, like Illinois Wesleyan. I liked the Human Rights and Peace Center, a logical outcome for a country that certainly needs both. There was also potential funding for a Center for Private Sector Excellence, which also sounded interesting. And, of course, the programs and degrees in fields such as agriculture, food, and public health.
The College of Business, itself, has 6000 students in degrees ranging from undergraduate degrees in Commerce (finance and accounting and banking) and Business though Ph.Ds. The intriguing degree to me was a Master’s in Public Infrastructure Management, that is a regional degree with Universities in Praetoria and Dakar and involve water, transportation, health, and engineering.
The ambitions of the college are to prioritize sustainable development through research in 1) ethics and corporate social responsibility for growth and poverty reduction; 2) public sector management and social service delivery, and their relevance to communities; and 3) productivity increases, especially in agriculture.
All business undergraduates take a two-week course in entrepreneurship—with teams of ten. The size of the group is commensurate with the number of faculty and the general size of their classes. Remember the claim that this is the “Harvard” of Africa? Classes are over 100; faculty teach around 35 contact hours per week, and are also expected to do research. However, of the 20 faculty, only 6 have Ph.Ds, mostly from UK universities. Oh, by the way, this “Harvard” has 140 computers for 6,000 graduates.
The other “Harvard” we visited was located on prison grounds, but offered a different kind of “education.” About a year ago, the President initiated a training institute for girls in unused buildings at the prison. Recognizing the need for bootstrap training, he offered space (the barracks of the Nkruhma and Nasser regiments are quartered on the grounds) and the funding for girls who were unemployed, or out of school, or… The program now has 4,089 women for 4-6 month programs that include shoemaking, tailoring, cooking, and weaving. Girls sign up on a first come first serve basis and when they are done, get a certificate and 1 million shillings (about a third of the averagze national income), and depending on the trade, an appropriate machine to startup. Classes were big; the cooking class had about ten at each station, making a pizza assembly line style; In the haircutting class, there were 4-10 at each station with a different girl getting her styling each day. The girls mostly live nearby and get meals and hope; as they come through the prison gates each day, they get a reminder, perhaps, of the “alternatives” were they not enrolled in the programs.
I was thinking about input and outcomes. Which option really is the “Harvard” of Africa?