Makerere University Council has mandated the College of Education and External Studies (CEES) with extramural powers to conduct academic training outside the gates of the main campus. In the past, such training was routed through the Department of Community Education, now renamed the Centre for Lifelong Learning (CLL). The CLL is authorized to conduct training outside the university under the auspices of CEES, where all short courses are taught.
Based on this mandate, the university has branches and centers spread across the country where various courses are conducted, such as the Administrative Law Officers Course conducted as a short course, as well as other skills-enhancing courses such as Public Administration, Medical Records, and Project Planning and Management. Awards from these courses capture where they were taught from, the official university seal, and the registration number of the learners, and must be graded.
Therefore, any other programs that are not routed through CEES may be termed as “wastage of taxpayers’ money.“
The following are the official branches and centers managed by CEES which are vested with extramural mandate for the last 70 years:
- Mbale Branch: Serves the regions of Bugisu, Karamoja, Sebei, Teso, and parts of Bukedi. Located alongside Republic Street opposite Centenary Bank, a stone’s throw from the Central Police Station Mbale.
- Lira Branch: Serves the regions of Lango and parts of Gulu and Padyere.
- Iganga Centre: Serves the districts of Busoga, such as Iganga, Mayuge, Namutamba, Bugweri, and Kaliro.
- Busia Centre: Serves the districts of Busia, Namayingo, Bugiri, and parts of Tororo, Malaba, and parts of Kenya county governments.
- Kamuli Centre: Located at Progress Valley College Kamuli and serves all of Buyende District and partly Luuka District and Kamuli itself.
- Wakiso Centre: Serves Mukono and Wakiso districts.
- Other centres: Located in Kibale, Fort Portal, Kabale, and Nakasongola districts.
The University Coordinator of Makerere University Mbale Branch, Mr. Steven Masiga, encourages the country to utilize the available opportunities to move to a nearby university center and acquire the right skills in administrative law, public administration, and others.
“It is an old practice in government that nobody will force you to go for further studies, but you will be told to pack and move out if you don’t have the required skills,” Mr. Masiga opined. “Our people should therefore seize these opportunities and insulate themselves with the required knowledge.“
An educated population equipped with the right skills will quickly appreciate the efforts of the Government of Uganda in putting in place programs like PDM, USE, and UPE, among others.
The university council’s commitment to taking education to the doorsteps of almost every region in line with the university motto of “taking Makerere University to the people and bringing the people to the university” is meant to fulfill various global and national objectives of empowering Ugandans with the right skills in the form of capacity-building courses so that they serve well in their workstations. Local governments require well-polished staff, and Makerere University is committed to providing such training with short skills in law and other university programs that can be acquired from the main campus in the form of undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
