Journal of Science and Sustainable Development

An Assessment of Students’ Perceptions of the Quality of Teaching in Public Universities in Uganda

2022-09-09T10:04:02+00:00

This paper examines students’ perceptions of the quality of teaching at Makerere University. It is derived from a broader study that examined accountability and service delivery in public universities in Uganda. Specifically, this paper sought to assess students’ satisfaction with the study content and coverage, teaching methods, and lecturers’ attendance and punctuality. Being the oldest public university in Uganda, the researcher believed that Makerere University represented all other public universities in Uganda. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and collect data from 397 students out of the total population of 13,203. The findings largely suggested that students were satisfied with the quality of teaching. In relation to course content and coverage, 68% were satisfied, 73% were satisfied with the teaching methods, while 79% were satisfied with teachers’ attendance and punctuality. However, the unsatisfied minority revealed that the study content was too theoretical, and that teaching methods were teacher centred. Students stated that some academics were usually late for lectures, and sometimes they missed lectures without communicating in time one of the reasons being that they had to seek for meals outside the university. The study recommended that to further improve quality teaching, Makerere University should admit students she can adequately provide for, hire more academics, facilitate lecturers to conduct more research, and provide tea and lunch to lecturers while at the university among others. This research carries value to education policy makers and university authorities. The findings can be used by institutions of higher learning to further improve the delivery of quality teaching and learning.

Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Process Model and Students’ Attitudes towards Fees Payment Policies in Public Universities in Uganda

2022-09-09T10:04:03+00:00

This study aimed at exploring the attitudes students in three public universities in Uganda hold towards tuition fees policies. It also investigated the relationship between Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Process Model and these attitudes. Data was collected from 360 students drawn from Busitema University, Kyambogo University, and Makerere University. These were selected using stratified and cluster sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and subjected to regression analysis. The findings show that many students have a low opinion of, and are opposed to, their universities’ tuition policies. However, most of the steps in Kotter’s Model were significantly (positively) related to the students’ attitudes towards the policies. It was concluded that the model can guide efforts to enhance the effectiveness of tuition fees policies in the universities. Hence, the universities are urged to orientate enforcement of their fees policies towards the steps in the model.

Economic Empowerment of the Elderly and Social Protection Policy

2023-02-15T10:06:31+00:00

This study interrogated the resourcing component of social protection for the economic empowerment of the elderly in Koboko District; with critical attention to the sources of funding, factors determining the accessibility of the available schemes, and possible strategies for their access. The study employed a qualitative approach anchored on interpretive phenomenology as the main overriding design. A total of 18 participants were engaged in the study and they were selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, focused group discussion, and observation; and analyzed using ATLAS.ti Version 8 based on the thematic, narrative and content analysis. Findings indicated that those who benefited from the scheme perceived the social protection programme positively and those who did not perceived social protection as a political programme based on government and political interests. Accessibility of the programme was also marred by delays and limited funding as well as technical hiccups. It was recommended that the social protection programmes should be redesigned to favour all the vulnerable elderly. Government, under the Office of the Prime Minister, should strengthen coordination and implementation mechanisms of the social protection programmes to support the elderly, and also pursue a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement so as to support the existing government social protection programmes and boost the resourcing component.