By Frank Kamuntu
A lecturer at Makerere University has landed in trouble for failing to his job and instead hiring a student to teach fellow students.
Dr. Dickson Kanakulya, a lecturer of Philosophy and Human Rights in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Makerere University, is under fire for assigning a student to teach his colleagues for an entire month.
At least more than 200 students due for graduation next year are affected because of this anomaly.
A university probe team assigned to investigate the matter found Dr. Kanakulya in breach of the university rules, regulations and procedures.
The team has recommended that Dr. Kanakulya be referred to the university Appointments Board for Disciplinary Action.
In their petition, students raised concerns regarding the management of the course unit and the conduct of the lecturer towards their complaints.
Subsequently, the school’s heads of department meeting held on June 17, 2019, decided to constitute a committee to investigate the matter to find a solution to the student’s complaints and other related issues.
The committee that was constituted on June 19th, 2019 was required to conclude its investigations by July 7th 2019.
The probe team was tasked to establish whether the concerned lecturer under taught and to what extent, whether he breached examination and course rules, as well as ascertaining whether the lecturer displaced himself with his undergraduate student in respect of lecturing.
The probe team was led by Associate Prof. Julius Kikooma and Dr. Florence Nansubuga, both from the School of Psychology.
The others members were Associate Professor Paul Omach from School of Social Sciences, Dr. Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi from the School of Women and Gender Studies, Esther Kabinga, a legal officer with the Legal directorate in the university and Vincent Ekwang, the College Registrar.
During the investigations, the probe team studied documents provided by the office of the Dean of School of Liberal and Performing Arts, interviews about the complaints and listened to testimonies of the witnesses who were mentioned in the various documents as well as Dr. Kanakulya, who was assigned to teach the course.
William Ssekannyo, one of the affected students, said he has just completed the Bachelor of Ethics and Human Rights course on Day program.
According to Ssekannyo, the teaching was not uniform with that of the evening class. He disclosed to the probe team that Dr. Kanakulya came to lecture not more than five times for the day class in the entire semester. “Instead he would send an evening student, Ms. Irene Nakibirige to lecture,” Ssekannyo disclosed.
He disclosed that Nakibirige taught them very many times because as the day class, they went over a month without the lecturer coming. He also told the probe that they never had a course outline for the said course unit.
Prossy Bameka, another student on the day program testified that they were not taught but the lecturer sent a student to teach them. “Irene [the student] taught us for about two (2) weeks, twice every week and I attended lecturers about ten times the whole semester,” Bameka disclosed.
Irene Nakibirige was invited to testify in the matter since she is at the center of the investigations. She said although she could not verify some of the complaints against the lecturer were true.
She told the probe one Monday morning at about 7:00am, she received a phone call from a classmate called Tendo Angella who informed her she had just called about two evening students including Tenywa Pius and Innocent Byagarazo who had disappointed her.
She reportedly said Dr. Kanakulya had requested her to look for someone among the evening class to help teach the day class Critical Thinking.
“At first I rejected the request because I was afraid as I wasn’t prepared but later, I accepted since I was helping my fellow students,” Nakibirige disclosed.
The evening class was ahead of the day class by about four topics. The student thought this as a good chance to interact with fellow students and would be benefiting through the class discussions.
“I prepared myself that morning and about 9:00am went to Livingstone Hall and taught the students,” she said.
A few days after the first lecture, Dr. Kanakulya is said to have called her thanking her for helping him. The lecturer allegedly asked if there was anything he could do or give her to repay her, but she refused, saying she had taught in good faith.
She would later lecture a few more times about four double shift lectures in total, for about a month. Nakibirige says she never met the lecturer to discuss any reward but was shocked by the 10 marks she got in her coursework. The student claimed she was very active in class but was not sure how she scored the mark as students have never received feedback about their performance. She says students have no idea how the coursework was assessed.
“I discussed my discontentment of my Critical Thinking marks with a lecturer Dr. Lajul who advised me to appeal if I was not contented. I was helping the lecturer to teach day class and I don’t know how I scored low marks yet the lecturer trusted me enough to teach,” Nakibirige
