(Kampala) – The Law Development Centre (LDC) has found itself in the spotlight, but not for the reasons anyone would want. Dr. Pamela Tibihikirra Kalyegira, the no nonsense director who took the reins earlier this year, has made it clear that she will not be tolerating any monkey business—especially when it comes to students offering sex for marks or lecturers accepting the ‘offer.’
“If you think sex is your shortcut to a diploma, I suggest you find another road,” she warned, as seriously as an LC1 chairperson during a village council meeting. In a stern reminder to students and staff alike, she vowed that under her leadership, LDC would not allow any of that “sex for marks nonsense” that seems to have become a familiar refrain in Ugandan higher education.
To really drive the point home, Dr. Tibihikirra delivered this sharp message on Friday, September 13, 2024, during a pedagogy training session for teaching staff at LDC’s Kampala campus, where she reminded them that their job is to impart knowledge, not get tangled in scandals.
The pedagogy training did not stop at Kampala. Similar workshops are being held at LDC’s other campuses across the country. This was no ordinary training either; according to the organizers, these sessions are designed to teach the lecturers how to actually make an impact on their students. In Uganda, where many teachers simply “sow seeds of knowledge” and hope for a harvest, this was a wake up call.
But let us not forget that this is not just about students trying to navigate the choppy waters of academia through dodgy shortcuts. Dr. Tibihikirra had strong words for the teaching staff too: “We hold you at a higher level of accountability.” Basically, if you thought you could sneak around, “Katemba-style” and collect favours for grades, think again. This is LDC, not a poorly run drama at the National Theatre.
The focus on staff development continued with guest speakers like Dr. Gillian Kasirye, a curriculum specialist, who reminded lecturers that their personal brand is their “unique promise of value.” She encouraged the teaching staff to keep improving their craft. After all, how are they supposed to teach Uganda’s future lawyers if they cannot even keep their own knowledge fresh?
LDC is, after all, Uganda’s premier institution for producing lawyers—offering the prestigious Bar Course that culminates in the all important Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice. A title that sounds fancy enough to scare off any boda boda rider who might try to haggle over a fare with you.
However, the real drama did not come from the training sessions. It came from the larger problem looming over LDC’s admissions process. Just this month, over 2,300 students from various universities applied for the Bar Course, but LDC only admitted 1,260 of them. That is like trying to squeeze all of Kampala’s taxi park into a single Pioneer bus—it is simply not going to happen. This shortfall has caused ripples in the legal community, with students left wondering if their dreams of becoming lawyers were slipping through their fingers faster than a rolex at Owino Market.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Norbert Mao, has promised to review over 30 laws to address the situation. But let us be honest, if anyone knows how long “government reviews” can take, it is a Ugandan who has never applied for a national ID.
In the meantime, Dr. Tibihikirra is determined to clean up LDC’s act. Whether she will succeed or face a barrage of complaints like a radio presenter dodging call ins on a controversial topic is yet to be seen.
