MBARARA – Universities in Uganda have been urged to focus on equipping their students with skills to enable them to compete effectively on the job market.
The call was made Friday, September 18, by Henk Jan Baker the Netherlands Ambassador to Uganda while speaking as the chief guest at the 15th graduation ceremony of 1,604 students at Bishop Stuart University in Mbarara.
Among the graduands, 828 were males while were 776 females.
Baker said that students should not be job seekers but rather job creators, which can only possible if they have been equipped with practical skills.
“The country is crying of unemployment now and again but it is you the institutions to phase out this trend by equipping the next generation with the knowledge that can help them create jobs,” said Mr. Baker.
In her remarks, Mauda Kamatenesi the Bishop Stuart University Vice-Chancellor called upon the graduands to use the knowledge acquired to shape the future of the country.
Kamatenesi said it is the role of the youth from institutions to protect the integrity of the country by observing discipline and advocating peace in their communities.
“We have moulded you with different skills to go and change the world positively in the field of innovation and creativity which are core in nation-building,” noted Mrs. Kamatenesi.
The Mbarara District Woman Member of Parliament Rosette Mutambi Kajungu challenged the graduands to embrace technology in order to break the youth unemployment in the country.
M/s Mutambi urged the youth to tap opportunities in the technoprenuership chain especially in the fields of agriculture now that they are out.
The Ankole Diocese bishop who doubles as the university chancellor, Rt. Rev. Dr Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa appealed to the public to embrace technology to help them diversify their farming practices, in order to increase productivity.
