Uganda needs multi-skilled graduates who can contribute to solving national problems through innovation and research, President Yoweri Museveni has said. This, according to Museveni, will bolster the country’s move towards the attainment of the middle income status.
It is against this background that the President asked the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) to produce graduates who can appreciate their own environment, understand the plight of their country, demonstrate interest and be able to contribute to solving national problems through innovation and research.
“The country needs the appropriate human resource with liberating management skills. It is not a question of numbers and qualifications in terms of certificates. This only brings about an inflation of certificates,” Museveni said.
“What is needed is the right attitude towards work, appropriate skills and drive. The country is looking for people that are result-oriented, able to multi-task, are extremely flexible and are able to train and retrain,” he explained.
This was contained in Museveni’s speech read by the Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, at UMI’s 17th graduation ceremony held in Kampala on Friday. A total of 3,021 graduands were awarded master’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas and ordinary diplomas in various fields of study.
The institute, for the first time, also awarded three students with PhDs, an achievement which is also part of their golden jubilee celebrations.
Museveni also asked UMI to nurture managers who can link science to management and harness local resources through creativity and innovation to bring about accelerated economic growth and development rooted on indigenous management policy.
“The civil servants you train must respond to societal needs and issues. They ought to know how to prioritise. We cannot solve all the problems in this country at the same time,” the President argued.
Imploring the institute to tailor problem-solving skills in their training, Museveni also challenged them to carry out an analysis of the country’s problems and lead in providing workable solutions
