{UAH} The Observer - Prof Mamdani's MISR leadership challenged
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The Observer - Prof Mamdani's MISR leadership challenged
Friday, 03 October 2014 00:44
Dr Stella Nyanzi, a research fellow at MISR, alleges that Mamdani, who was appointed in 2010 to head the institute, has redirected MISR's mandate (including the vision, goals, aims, objectives, activities, resources and outputs) towards teaching the newly-established PhD training programme, squeezing out social science research.
"The long-established mandate of MISR was to develop, train and conduct social research relevant to Uganda... However, when this powerful professor took over directorship in late 2010, he converted MISR into a PhD-teaching institute," Nyanzi wrote in an email exchange with members of Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa) last month.
In 1948, the colonial government established the East African Social Science Research Institute, now MISR, as a centre for research on different aspects of policy. Since its establishment, the centre has continued to facilitate social analyses to inform policy and programme formulation. In 2010, Mamdani, one of Uganda's most acclaimed academics, was appointed to turnaround the institute that had been turned into a consultancy of sorts.
In 2012, he introduced an interdisciplinary PhD to nurture a new team of researchers.
However, before the results of Mamdani's innovation can be seen, Nyanzi says the PhD programme has displaced research at MISR, "as there is no longer a clear institutional research portfolio".
Nyanzi says all resources meant for research have been redirected towards the PhD programme.
Human resource
Nyanzi further claims that the PhD programme has compromised employment contracts of employees who were posted as academic research staff at the institute.
"For example, my appointment as research fellow was for the full-time role of academic researcher...When Prof. Mamdani introduced his PhD training programme, he instituted a mandatory requirement for all academic staff at MISR to reorder their workload into a compulsory ratio of 50:50 teaching:research workload," she writes.
Dr Nyanzi claims that the directive has stifled her promotion, since she has refused to teach. She also cites researchers who have reportedly been forced to leave MISR because of the changes, among them Dr Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, Dr Abby Sebina-Zziwa, Dr Stella Neema, Dr Frederick Kisekka-Ntale, Dr Agnes Kamywa, Mr Richard Kibombo and Mr Sam Kayabwe. Whereas Dr Nyanzi says her concerns have been brought to the attention of the university authorities, there is no feedback yet.
"I have waited at length to receive any tangible solutions for the dilemma at MISR. Some individuals at the helm of the college (college of Humanities and Social Sciences), which is responsible for MISR, are too intimidated by Prof Mamdani's guru and sage-like statuses," she claimed.
However, from the email exchanges The Observer has seen, some Muasa members sympathise with Nyanzi.
"If you believe you are right (which I think you are), do not abandon your position even if it means challenging the decision of university organs in court," replied Prof Ben Twinomugisha of the school of Law on September 26.
Twinomugisha, whose teaching specialty is labour law at Makerere University, noted that Nyanzi might have a good case, "if your contract as a researcher is based on a policy that does not demand teaching."
On his part, Dr Winston Ireeta, the Muasa leader in charge of staff welfare, implored the university administration to address Nyanzi's concerns.
MISR responds
Prof Mamdani is currently at Columbia University in the United States where he was previously based and still does some work. But Dr Lawyer Kafureeka, the acting MISR director, told The Observer yesterday that, "it should be appreciated that MISR accepted the task of teaching the PhD and this does not change the mandate of the institute because the nature of the PhD is research-based, which is clearly still in line with MISR's mandate." Kafureeka explained that introducing the PhD programme aimed to lay a foundation that will help MISR execute its full mandate.
He said the Structural Adjustment Programmes that led to liberalisation of research had turned the institute into a consultancy with no serious research taking place for 20 years. On the high staff turnover, Kafureeka said most of the people who left were consultants who could not cope with the changes, particularly doing research for knowledge production per se as opposed to merely profit.
"Except a few people like Dr Golooba, most of those who left were consultants. So, we are in a new situation of producing our researchers," he said.
Kafureeka urged Nyanzi to renegotiate her contract with Makerere.
"I understand where she is coming from but our new mandate envisages both research and teaching, which is not unusual to universities world over. So, for any promotion, she will be assessed based on that," he said.
skakaire@observer.ug
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