This piece is grounded in a statement that Dr. Gerald Zihembire Ahabwe posted on one of the Makerere PhD Graduate Alumni WhatsApp groups. Gerald texted that a lot more information keeps coming to him, albeit too late. He wrote: “Like now, you guys, why didn’t you tell me that my PhD thesis can be just about 20 pages? Why?”
The implication of the “why” question is that writing a PhD thesis, moreover from Makerere University, is very rigorous and involves some hectic work that can consume more than five years.
However, from the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption, we have observed that a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) holder is indeed a knowledgeable person, not only in Uganda but internationally. One challenging issue in Uganda is that, these days, having a PhD can result in fewer opportunities.
Many people without PhDs will wonder how. But let us explain. Many organisations, including government departments, fear recruiting PhD holders, leaving them to struggle for themselves to survive. Even in the civil society space, PhD holders are treated with fear and discrimination. Actually, some non-PhD holders even refer to PhD holders as ‘wisekers’—people perceived as too clever, too theoretical or difficult to deal with.
However, one question we pose here is: for someone to earn a PhD in Uganda, it means that he or she has been using some of the government’s resources, whether the internet, buildings, roads, or other public infrastructure. But if these PhD holders are then left to struggle for themselves, it means the government is again losing the value of the resources it invested in these personalities.
One more disturbing issue is that people look at education as a way to get their families out of poverty. But, surprisingly, some academic engagements are keeping Africans in poverty.
This is why I call upon the Government not to neglect PhD holders in Uganda, but to find a solution to engage them and make them productive for the betterment of Uganda and for the future of Uganda.
Otherwise, if things are left to only the practicals without theoretical analysis, then things might lose science.
Ayub Mukisa, PhD, writes from the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC).
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