Harnessing ICT will help improve the quality of Uganda’s graduates- Universities urged

Universities and other institutions of higher learning have been asked to harness Information and Communication Technology as one of the ways to improve the quality of the country’s graduates.

Speaking during the three day  first annual conference on higher education held at the UMA show grounds, Prof. Abdu Kasozi, a former Executive Director for the National Council for Higher Education said more effort is needed to ensure that institutions of higher learning make use of technology, a thing he said is not currently happening.

“Universities need to come to terms with the use of Information and Communication Technology. ICT can make us aware of what is going on and innovations,” Prof. Kasozi said.

The former Executive Director for the National Council of Higher Education said ICT can come in handy in research which can be helpful in improving the quality of graduates for universities.

Prof.Kasozi said lack of enough research done by students at universities, the country has poor quality graduates, adding that research would do a great job in equipping them with knowledge.

“Through research, students ask a lot of questions and by answering them through experiments, they get a lot of knowledge and subsequently the quality of graduates will go up.”

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Vincent Bagiire said government has put in place infrastructure to support ICT, adding that it is upon institutions of higher learning and individuals to harness them for their own benefit.

“A lot has been said about our education system but we should celebrate. The internet has a lot to offer for our education sector and it should be harnessed,”Bagiire said.

“Policies and regulations to support ICT have been put in place. We have over 3000km of fibre optic put in place and an enabling environment to ensure connectivity.”

The ICT ministry Permanent Secretary said that technology has created opportunities beyond the classrooms that the education sector should harness.

The Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director, Godfrey Mutabazi said ICT is now part of people’s day to day life, adding that no one should turn a blind eye to it.

“ICT creates opportunities in every sector in our economy and can transform human lives beyond imagination. Institutions of higher learning too should not be left out,”Mutabazi said.

The first annual conference on higher education was organized under the theme ‘mainstreaming ICT in research, higher education delivery and management.’

The acting Executive Director for the National Council for Higher Education, Dr.Alex Kagume said ICT should be at the centre of everything at institutions of higher learning, adding that government is pushing the idea.

“We want to see ICT at the centre of teaching, learning, research, management and innovation in higher education,”Dr.Kagume said.