Prof. Fred Masagazi Masaazi, on February 11, 2022, handed over the office of Principal College of Education and External Studies after serving for 9 years. Prof. Masagazi handed over office to Prof. Anthony Muwagga Mugagga at a ceremony attended by Deans, HoDs, directors and Human resources and officials from Internal Audit. Prof Masagazi has led CEES for two terms from 2013 to 2021.
Prof. Masagazi congratulated Prof. Mugagga upon being appointed Principal and also thanked his Deputy Principal, Prof. Muyinda Birevu, for his continued support during their service to the college.
Prof. Masagazi appreciated all the Deans, HoDs, administrative heads, staff and students of the college for the support accorded him during his tenure. He advised the incoming Principal on certain aspects such as financial budgeting, which has to be done well before the budget call, accountability which has to be done quarterly and audited by the office of the Auditor General. He also advised Prof. Mugagga to see to the regularization of employment for contract staff and stop-gap measure staff. Prof. Masagazi told the incoming Principal that he had started on the process of reviewing the college establishment, and asked him to follow this up with management.
During his tenure, Prof. Masagazi registered several achievements which include;
- Promoting and maintaining Team work and a peaceful co-existence among staff. This has enabled the college to contribute to the university’s core business of teaching and learning, research and knowledge transfer partnerships
- Facilities. The college acquired extra teaching space and offices which includes former Lumumba kitchen, CCE dining hall, a flat housing the officer of the registrar and Bursar
- Research dissemination: RIF has supported a lot of research in the college. This the Prof. hoped would continue because it builds the junior researchers’ capacity to undertake research and write grant proposals
- Institute of Distance and e-learning: The institute was operationalized and Dr. Mayende appointed as its director. The team has been involved in e-learning trainings for staff and students of the university especially during the Covid-19 outbreak which necessitated on-line teaching. The Principal appreciated the Director for a job well-done.
- Staff promotions: A number of staff have been promoted since 2017.
- Renovations of facilities: Some buildings we painted.
- The college made a request to university management for a new building and face lift for other buildings.
- The annual Senteza Kajubi lecture, which has been organized twice, has given CEES prominence in discussing the challenges affecting the education sector as well as solutions.
All these great achievements were however not realized without challenges. Prof. Masagazi noted that that the government had cut the university budget by 40% which has greatly affected budget realization. He said the cuts had affected teaching practice and forced the college to only prioritize teaching and learning activities, ignoring the support functions. The college is also dealing with the issue of understaffing in some administrative and academic units which creates work overload for the existing staff. The college is facing a challenge of obsolete ICT facilities. The outgoing Principal said the Directorate of ICT had been notified of the state of affairs.
The college has got some of the oldest buildings in the university, some as old as 100 years. This calls for renovation. Because of the increase in student numbers, the college is in need of new buildings to house more lecture space and offices. The college offers external courses such as Bachelor of Commerce External and Bachelor of Sciences External which need to be streamline, the outgoing principal advised.
The incoming Principal was informed about the student leadership whose activities are funded by the college, however, their needs are usually higher than the allocations, which needs to be discussed with the student leaders in an effort to find harmony.
Prof. Masagazi’s going away advise included the college’s need to consolidate the achievements and continued provision of leadership on matters of education in the region. He called on all staff to contribute to the university’s strategic plan of transforming the university into a research led institution. This will be done through writing/winning grants, publishing, supervision of graduate research and establishment of a grants office. He called for the continuation of the college’s seminar series and dissemination conferences. Building a long lasting relationship with the Ministry of Education is of utmost importance. Prof. Masagazi called for the implementation of the Principal’s publication award and organization of the alumni day. He too decried the low representation of females in management of the college. He advised on the streamlining of centres so that they can generate some income for the college. He called on IoDEL to continue fostering the use of online- teaching and learning in the college.
In his acceptance speech, Prof. Mugagga thanked God for his mercy and elevating him to the position of principal. Reflecting on the day’s sermon 1kings:11 in which God abandoned king Solomon when he sinned, Dr. Mugagga pledged not to abandon God, least God forsakes him. He thanked the outgoing principal for mentoring him and the staff of the college for supporting him, saying he will continue to learn a lot from them. To. Assoc. Prof. Muyinda, with whom he contested for the position, Prof. Mugagga called for his support for the growth of the college and the institution at large. Prof. Mugagga expressed readiness to work with Prof. Muyinda to ensure that the College of Education and External Studies continues to be a leader in e-learning and teacher education/training.
On matters of human resources, the new principal noted that the college has a high staff down pyramid, characterized by many assistant lecturers and very few senior lecturers, a situation he called on the Director HR to review. The Ministry of education has reviewed the curriculum at all levels of education which calls for the college to reposition herself to meet the needs of learners but also to provide psychosocial support to both students and parents, Prof. Mugagga said. “Many children have stayed out of school due to early pregnancies, so we need to start supporting them,” he said. He called on the Institute of Distance and e-learning to intensify its efforts in teaching because with the 2019 teacher education policy, more people are bound to undertake distance learning. Prof. Mugagga intendents to grow the Centre for Lifelong learning to a commercial enterprise, which can generate funds for the college. He also wants the Centre for Teaching and Learning Support to take a central role in soliciting for profitable projects for teacher education.
Responding to the gender inequality in leadership of the college, prof. Mugagga pledged to support more women to lead the college. He also pledged to continue to be both a principal and a professor who will continue to engage in the academic affairs of the college through supervision of graduate research.
Prof. Mugagga prayed for God’s mercy and guidance and called for the support of all the staff, saying “If I go wrong please correct me”.
The Director Human Resources represented by Mr Deus Mujuni and the Director Internal Audit also congratulated the new principal and wished him smooth sailing in his new position.
