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Kampala, Uganda | PROSSY NANSUBUGA | Parliament has urged the Ministry of Education to investigate Makerere University’s ongoing internship programs and field attachments, following a complaint raised by Kanungu MP James Kaberuka.
According to Kaberuka, Makerere’s Senate recently resolved that the 2019/20 internship and field attachment activities would continue as planned despite the influx of a pandemic. This, decision was in a letter dated 24th June 2020, addressed to the Principals, Deans and Colleges of the University.
Apparently, the resolution was based on argument that internship doesn’t require students to be on University campus which made the programs viable to proceed.
However according to Kaberuka, Makerere ignored the fact that most students traveled back to their villages and with the COVID-19 hardships, travelling back to the city is cumbersome.
He also added that most organizations responded to the crisis as directed by President Museveni, by reducing on the number of workers and employees to essential workers and employees and thus they can’t host and accommodate interns.
“The ongoing internship programs will likely disorganized students parents. I pray that all stakeholders be engaged so that they can restrain such institutions from causing unnecessary havoc and misleading students into distorting the President’s directives, instead of staying home,” he said.
The Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga directed the Ministry of Education to examine the complaint and give Parliament an update in a week’s time.
Makerere University has been closed since March 2020, a move that interrupted the academic calendar and distorted plans for internship and recess term.
