Mary Okwakol

"Education is the key to empowerment and development. As educators, our role is not just to transmit knowledge, but to build confidence, critical thinking skills, and a sense of responsibility in our students."

"Strive to be purpose-driven, choose to be role models and always walk the talk so as to have idealized influences. Have genuine concern for those you lead, be innovative and challenge your followers to do likewise. It is transformational leaders who will build transformational institutions."

"Women at all levels have the ability to care for and nurture others. Women bring commitment to teaching as well as supporting the learners, be they male or female. Furthermore, the presence of women in policy making leads to more balanced policies."

"Take good care of your health and wellbeing. The only way I manage is by doing exercise every day! It is very important that all parts of your body receive that flow of blood."

"I owe all that I am to my unschooled but educated parents who despite not having gone to formal school, still had the wisdom to value the education of the girl child instead of marriage, as was the case then."

"This is a drop in the ocean when we are talking about getting more women to hold leadership positions. We still have a lot of work to do as a continent to change this."

"Women in top leadership positions can inspire and mentor upcoming academics. They would also be well placed to offer advice on how to overcome challenges along the academic path. And female leaders could be in positions where they can influence policies within their institutions and at the national levels."

"What good will it profit you if you get this paper while your young family crumbles?"

"As was the case in the 2020 examination, female candidates have proportionally (in terms of percentages) performed better than the males at all levels, and have shown a lower failure rate. Even at individual subject levels, they have shown a better performance."

"Accessibility to higher education remains a big challenge particularly for students from rural Uganda."

"The purpose of this communication is to inform you of the current position of the government and to encourage you to utilize the ODel system; all institutions that have not embraced the Odel system are encouraged to to do so."

"University leaders are well placed to address the gender gaps in science, technology and innovation. However, at present, most of them are men. Women in top leadership positions can inspire and mentor upcoming academics. They would also be well placed to offer advice on how to overcome challenges along the academic path. And female leaders could be in positions where they can influence policies within their institutions and at the national levels."

"Although the study is being conducted in three African countries, the recommendations will be applicable across the continent because the challenges are often similar."

"Universities and governments need to enact deliberate policies that favour women and girls."

"Dropping age limits for applicants would help."

"When scholarships are advertised, most of them have age limits. When a woman drops out of work to raise children and then returns, she is often … above the age limit for courses."

"There are only 40 women vice-chancellors heading up the roughly 1,500 universities across Africa."

"Initiatives such as RUFORUM’s education funding support for women in higher education have also boosted the number of women with scientific skills and qualifications."

"It is a decrease from the 2020/2021 because in 2020 2021 we will recorded 5.9%. So, it is a drop of 0.6 percent, the Ugandan ratio is far below the Sub Saharan average is 9.4% and the global average which is at 38%."

"I am optimistic that Higher Education Access Program by the FAWE Uganda and Mastercard Foundation will provide an opportunity for more A-Level graduates to join higher education in Uganda."

"Institutions should consider developing approaches favouring companies to offer mentorship to students."

"Higher institutions of learning should invest in research to enable companies to offer virtual internship training to students."

"Companies should familiarize themselves with virtual systems and not give up on mentoring students since they both get a chance for someone with fresh ideas and allowing students to bring out their previous experiences."