Campus Bee can confirm that Makerere University has finally called off the 2019/2020 internship which was, in one way or the other meant to happen scientifically amidst the COVID-19 pandemic following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
In a statement addressing academic leaders yesterday, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs (DVCAA) at Makerere, Umar Kakumba noted that the internship was cancelled because of the rapidly increasing concerns, from some sections of the public politicizing the internships.
“Dear Academic leaders. Whereas Senate, in the wake of COVID-19, had approved modalities for implementing Internship/ Field Attachment and Recess, with flexibility to allow students to carry out field projects remotely, while observing SOPs and utilizing available online and offline mechanisms; and whereas the Colleges were in advanced stages of starting Internship (and others having actually started in phases) – we are increasingly getting concerns, from some sections of the public politicizing the issue Internships” the statement by Kakumba (the DVCAA) reads.
Earlier this month, Makerere Senate’s decision to let internship proceed amid the pandemic raised public uproar which further sparked debate in the Parliament of Uganda where a section of legislators resisted the move and asked for a deep investigation into the matter