Over the years, however, that tradition gradually faded as industrial disputes, declining staff welfare and the struggle to sustain teaching and research shifted attention from national issues to institutional survival.
Against that backdrop, the inaugural National Budget Breakfast Meeting organised by the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) was significant not merely because it examined Uganda's 2026/27 budget, but because it reflected an institution seeking to reclaim a role many believe it once occupied with distinction.
Although the meeting focused on the national budget presented by the Minister of Finance in June, the discussions quickly broadened into a reflection on the place of universities in public policymaking.
Can a university remain relevant if its scholars confine themselves to lecture rooms and academic journals? Should researchers play a more direct role in interrogating national priorities? And can evidence-based scholarship help improve the quality of public decision-making in a rapidly changing economy?
For MUASA Chairperson Jude Ssempebwa, those questions informed the decision to convene what he described as the association's first national budget dialogue.
"The objective of this meeting is to promote appreciation and critique of the national budget through the lenses of the National Development Plan, the Strategic Development Goals and an internationally comparative perspective," Dr Ssempebwa said.
"Hopefully, the meeting will contribute to efforts to enhance the budget's performance, stakeholder participation, and the quality of future budget processes."
Ssempebwa noted that since the Minister of Finance presented the budget on June 11, Ugandans had continued to debate whether it adequately reflected the country's aspirations.
"After the Minister of Finance read the budget on the 11th of June, many people retained many questions. Is it the best budget we could have? Are we putting our money where our heart's desires are?
"Is the joy the budget gave well-deserved? Is the pain the budget gave expedient? Why was money for enhancement of the salaries of Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, and Assistant Lecturers nowhere to be seen in the budget? And the list of questions goes on."
Those conversations, he observed, had taken place in Parliament, boardrooms, public gatherings and on social media. Yet he argued that universities possess a comparative advantage because they are able to examine policy from the standpoint of evidence rather than political expediency.
"Many members of MUASA are experts in these things. Moreover, they are nonpartisan and dispassionate. Unlike some people who are constrained by party, organizational, business, or even tribal interests, the members of MUASA subordinate themselves to the truth without fear or favor," he said.
According to Ssempebwa, the association intends to organise similar platforms so that scholars can contribute to debates on issues extending beyond public finance to include health, agriculture, technology, human rights, food security and regional integration.
"Whether these be on the national budget, Ebola, the Parish Development Model, human rights, appropriate technology, food security, or regional integration, the voices of the members of MUASA deserve the serious attention of stakeholders," he said.
His appeal was echoed by Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, who viewed the dialogue as a return to the university's historical mission of shaping national conversations. Congratulating MUASA for organising the event, Nawangwe recalled a period when Makerere was renowned for hosting debates on issues of national importance.
"A lot of people say Makerere used to be the centre of debate on national issues. They always refer to the days of Mahmood Mamdani and others debating in the Main Hall with Milton Obote and that kind of thing," he said.
He believes that culture diminished largely because academic staff became preoccupied with improving their own welfare.
"Somehow, it went quiet, I think because of structural problems. We were more preoccupied with how we would survive as members of staff because the situation was very difficult."
For Nawangwe, the budget breakfast signalled that Makerere's academic community was beginning to rediscover its public voice.
"What MUASA is doing now is testimony to the much improved working conditions. People can now concentrate on debating issues that will develop their country."
He urged academics to extend those discussions beyond annual budgets and interrogate broader economic priorities, citing the nationwide campaign encouraging coffee growing as an example where research should inform public policy.
"We have a lot of expertise at Makerere University in all fields. Have we studied and concluded that coffee can grow everywhere, or are we simply going to make farmers spend their energy and perhaps get nothing out of it? Government should take full advantage of the huge capacity that exists at Makerere University."
While acknowledging government support to the university, Nawangwe argued that Uganda's ambitions of achieving rapid economic transformation would remain difficult without stronger investment in higher education and research.
"As far as we are concerned in Uganda, priority number one is education, particularly higher education," he said. "If you have an educated population, you will have better health, better agriculture and better trade. Everything will improve once the population is properly educated."
He also renewed Makerere's appeal to the Ministry of Public Service to approve the university's revised staffing structure, saying the institution had already built substantial research capacity but was unable to fully utilise it because many qualified academics could not be promoted.
"We have built so much capacity, but as a country we are not making good use of it. We are not able to promote people who have attained the qualifications to become professors simply because of the existing structure."
The wider economic context was provided by Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba through remarks delivered by Executive Director for Risk and Strategy Andrew Philip Wabulya.
He argued that Uganda's budgeting process must increasingly take account of structural realities, including a youthful population, climate change, geopolitical tensions and technological change.
With more than 60 percent of Ugandans below the age of 30, he said, the country's demographic profile presents "a challenge and an opportunity", depending on whether government invests sufficiently in education and skills development.
He also called for greater investment in infrastructure, agro-processing, manufacturing, climate-resilient agriculture and the adoption of artificial intelligence to improve productivity across the economy.
"Our budget must prioritise sustainability, productivity and inclusivity," Wabulya said. "The national budget is not merely a financial plan. It is a statement of intent and a reflection of where the nation aspires to be through purposeful investment and responsible spending."
Whether MUASA's initiative becomes an enduring national platform remains to be seen. Yet the inaugural breakfast meeting demonstrated that beneath debates about revenue, expenditure and fiscal policy lies a larger question about the role universities should play in Uganda's development.
If the discussions continue with the same spirit of intellectual independence, Makerere may once again become not only a place where knowledge is produced, but also where the country's most important ideas are tested before they shape public policy.