Makerere University Deans’ have asked Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe to avail complaints that he allegedly received regarding the illegality of the Dean’s forum.
The Makerere University Deans’ Forum (MUDF) was an umbrella for Deans of schools and directors of teaching institutions, established to promote academic excellence through collective action, capacity building, and the sharing of best practices.
But on May 29, Prof. Nawangwe asked the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs, Prof Umar Kakumba to suspend the forum which he labelled an illegal entity. He said he had received several complaints about the legality of the Forum.
“Pending resolution of the legality issues, all activities of the Forum are hereby suspended,” Nawangwe said in the letter to Prof Kakumba.
Subsequently, on May 30, Prof Kakumba informed the Chairperson and Members of the Forum, Deans, Principal, and Deputy Principal of the School of Law about the decision of the Vice Chancellor.
The suspension has, however, sparked a heated debate with critics branding the decision as another authoritarian move by Prof. Nawangwe, who has been accused of stifling free expression at Uganda’s oldest academic institution.
In a letter signed by Deans from different schools to Prof. Nawangwe, they argued that the Dean’s Forum is not an Organ of the University and does not pretend to be one but an internal formal academic leaders network just like numerous other forums and networks like the Professors’ Forum, Principal Investigators’ Forum, and Academic Leaders’ Forum, among others.
The Deans who signed the letter include Prof. Arthur Tugume, from the College of Natural Sciences, Prof. Saudah Namyaalo from the School of Languages, Literature and Communication, Prof. Amanda Tumusiime from Margret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art, and Prof. Godfrey Achileng from the School of Business.
The letter dated June 5, was also signed by Dr Claire Mugasa, the Dean of the School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical, and Laboratory Science, Dr Justice Twesigye, the Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Dr Martin Bakulu, the Dean of the School of Psychology.
“The strategic leverage of the Deans’ Forum allows bridging the gaps in the orientation of new members by sharing experiences and supporting one another, peer learning engagement to break the silos across schools, supporting multidisciplinary research and teaching, and ultimately enhancing the effective and efficient execution of the functions of Dean.
Hence, the overall aim of the Deans’ Forum is to promote academic excellence through collective action, capacity building, and harnessing each other’s capabilities, experiences and best practices,” their response reads.
The Deans further informed Nawangwe that the legal basis for the Deans’ Forum is Article 29 (1)(e) of the Constitution of Uganda, which guarantees the freedom to associate, including forming and joining associations.
It is against this background that the Deans asked the Vice Chancellor to provide the complaints received about the forum’s legality and to expedite the investigation and resolution of these issues.
“Where the Deans’ forum is found to be illegal, we request you avail us the reasons for that position, and specifically the provisions of any laws of Uganda or Makerere University policies/regulations that the Forum activities could be in breach of; and where your complaints regarding the legality of the Forum are found to be baseless, we request you to lift the suspension,” reads part of the letter.
Since his appointment, seven years ago, Nawangwe has faced criticism for highhandedness which resulted in the suspension of staff and students with dissenting views on institutional policies.
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