However, concerns have emerged about the absence of a framework for reintegrating beneficiaries into the public and private sectors’ workforce, writes YUDAYA NANGONZI.
The graduates and active students are concerned that the lack of a structured absorption program, risks their specialized skills and knowledge to be underutilized, leading to frustration and potential brain drain. Under the bilateral scholarships, the ministry of Education and Sports annually sends students to pursue advanced education in largely science fields such as engineering, medicine, and technology.
Some countries where Ugandan students are offered the scholarships are Algeria, Hungary, Cuba, India, China, Egypt, Malaysia, Japan and the UK. During a symposium organized by the Education ministry for the beneficiaries at Fairway hotel last week, the graduates raised a common concern of securing meaningful employment upon returning home.
They argued that after investing years in acquiring specialized skills abroad, the government should have a clear pathway in which they can contribute to the country’s development. Johnson Habasa, now a petroleum engineer, who studied for a master’s in Petroleum Refining and Petro Chemical Engineering at Anna University in India between 2017 and 2019, shared his frustration.
“When I returned to Uganda for an internship, I failed to secure a place and [instead] returned to India for training. Upon graduation, I applied for graduate training with the ministry of Energy. They told me to visit the directorate of Refinery Development where I would be contacted in case any opportunity comes. The call hasn’t come through five years later,” Habasa said.
He started a consultancy firm in oil and gas to keep abreast with the profession. He also teaches part-time at Kyambogo University where he had secured his first science degree in Technology (Chemistry) on government sponsorship. Hamidah Nabayego, an ICT guru, recalled obtaining a government job but getting sacked on her second day at work because she was “overqualified and a threat to other senior staff”.
She had a bachelor’s in Computer Applications from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) in India. With her master’s degree in the same field from the University of Mysore in India [2017 to 2020], she had done several job interviews in vain.
“When I met with the ICT coordinator in a meeting on the second day of the job, I gave my insights on one of the items on the agenda. The next day, I was called and informed that I was overqualified. I didn’t understand the grounds of my immediate sacking,” Nabayego said.
She had been offered a monthly pay of Shs 700,000 which she agreed to “because I was already frustrated with looking for jobs. They were paying me as a graduate intern but I had a master’s and it was okay with me.”
Currently, Nabayego is an ICT lecturer at a private university and head of the ICT department of a top private secondary school.
“I get good salaries from these two institutions with several fringe benefits but the job hunt is real for foreign graduates,” she said.
Nabayego urged the government to study the case of Namibia where students on foreign scholarships are mandated to work for a minimum of two years in public service on monthly payment. Thereafter, one decides whether to stay under the government or join other employment opportunities.
Dr Ibrahim Ssentambule did a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Oran in Algeria. He worked as an intern for 12 months at the Uganda Heart Institute before he was retained as a pharmacist.
“I was retained on the job as a volunteer and later absorbed into the system. Still, not everyone will be lucky to get such an offer. Students who offer programs not attached to professional bodies face an uphill task to secure internships in Uganda,” Ssentambule said.
MIXED REACTIONS
With more graduates from Ugandan institutions struggling to find employment, government officials at the symposium were skeptical about guaranteeing jobs for returning students despite acknowledgement of their concerns. The director of Higher Technical Vocational Education and Training (HTVET) at the ministry, Dr Safina Kisu Museene noted that back in the day, it was automatic for whoever went abroad to study to get a job offer until the private sector joined the labour workforce.
“We always select the best students for scholarships but if the government decided to ring-fence these excellent students, the private sector would lack quality people. Today, the human capital resources policy allows the free movement of labour. When government advertises and they [foreign students] want to work, I encourage them to apply,” Museene said.
She added: “Public service is reducing on the human resource and some positions are being phased out or merged. I know life is full of challenges but they should turn challenges into opportunities.”
Museene also commended graduates for their commitment to return and urged those still abroad to consider returning and serving their country. Racheal Kemigisha, a principal human resource manager at the ministry of Public Service, entirely agreed with the students’ idea for the ministries of Education and Public Service to formulate a framework.
“We have no framework to identify students trained abroad on bilateral scholarships and their relevant skills. We don’t have enough data on the skills of our people but currently, we are working on a National Skills Inventory which will help us to identify the skills gaps,” Kemigisha said.
For graduates who apply for public jobs through the district service commissions and are unfairly turned down, she urged them to appeal to the Public Service Commission.
“We have always nullified some appointments by districts as long as we discover that interviews were not conducted according to the job description,” she said.
WAY FORWARD
The commissioner in charge of Admissions, Scholarships and Students Affairs, Muzamiru Mukwatampola, urged scholarship beneficiaries to keep in touch with the ministry even when they graduate. This, he believed, would guide the ministry to plan accordingly for the beneficiaries.
“We have people who went abroad to study a two-year master’s program but their files at the ministry are blank almost ten years later. The auditors open these blank files and wonder whether indeed we sent people abroad to study,” Mukwatampola said.
He also highlighted the challenges of delayed equation of qualifications of graduates and registering with some professional bodies. However, it is not mandatory to equate the qualifications unless requested by one’s employer or education institution, according to Dr Cyrus Ssebugenyi, the head of Standards, Recognition and Equation of Qualifications at the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
The council charges a non-refundable equation fee of Shs 300,000 for a degree, master’s, and PhD while diplomas cost Shs 200,000.
“The process can take 24 hours, one week, and at most, two months for those whose foreign institutions take long to offer a response to NCHE,” Ssebugenyi.
To further ease the process, Ssebugenyi urged the Education ministry to occasionally furnish the council with lists of students on foreign scholarships.
nangonzi@observer.ug
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