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The Uganda Martyrs University Institutional Repository (UMU-IR) preserves research output from the Uganda Martyrs University community
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Recent Submissions
Politicization of COVID-19 in Uganda: a critical reflection on government interventions and citizens’ perceptions
(Springer Nature Link, 2025-05-25) Ssali, Lukwago Vick; Ohira, Wakiko; Musinguzi, Denis; Musoke, Nakabuye Juliet
The COVID-19 outbreak in Uganda coincided with the 2021 general elections. Facing strong opposition, Yoweri Museveni was standing at a critical juncture whether he would mark his 35th year as the president. This chapter situates COVID-19 in Museveni’s regime. It examines how Museveni and his party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), instrumentalized the pandemic, how citizens perceived the government interventions, and their consequences for Uganda’s political future. We argue that, although the instrumentalization of the pandemic might have worked favorably for the ruling party to win the elections, the government interventions revealed the shortcomings of the semi-authoritarian regime—the skewed relationship between the central and local government and incapabilities of local governments—that might challenge Museveni’s regime in the future.
Functions of governing boards in Catholic institutions: a multi-dimensional analysis of strategic planning, regulatory compliance, and resource mobilisation in Uganda
(East African Nature & Science Organization, 2025-06-30) Oyo, Charles; Musinguzi, Denis; Owino, Philip
This qualitative study examined governing board functions in Catholic institutions across Uganda through three core dimensions: strategic planning, regulatory compliance, and resource mobilisation. Using interpretive phenomenological design, the study involved 78 participants, including board members, managers, and staff across Catholic schools and health facilities in four ecclesiastical provinces. Data collection utilised semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, analysed using MAXQDA software with thematic analysis techniques grounded in integrated agency, resource dependence, and stakeholder theories. Findings revealed significant theory-practice disconnections with 68% of boards demonstrating reactive strategic planning approaches, 73% showing reactive compliance management, and 75% exhibiting over-reliance on external funding sources. The study uncovered "ceremonial governance" patterns where boards functioned as validation rather than strategic creation bodies, operating primarily through procedural compliance rather than functional effectiveness. These findings contribute empirical evidence on governance challenges in African Catholic contexts, offering practical implications for enhancing board functionality through integrated governance standards, systematic accountability frameworks, and balanced professional-mission excellence approaches. The research addresses critical gaps in governance literature by investigating board functions beyond financial metrics in mission-driven organisations, providing insights applicable to faith-based institutions globally while recognising the unique canonical-secular accountability tensions inherent in Catholic institutional governance.
Discipline, academic stress, and aggression among secondary school adolescents in Mbarara City, Uganda
(AJPO Journals, 2025-06-10) Mujuni, Mbiire Batwine Perez; Kihembo, Catherine
The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among discipline, academic stress, and aggression among adolescent secondary school students in Mbarara City, Uganda. In this study, across-sectional research design and quantitative approach was used. Data was collected from adolescent secondary school students (N= 384) using a structured questionnaire. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and linear regression were ran to establish the associations among the variables. The findings found out that the majority of the secondary school adolescents 342 (89%) reported use of positive methods of discipline by school authorities. There was generally high level of academic stress (M = 42.2, SD = 8.2), and students exhibited low levels of aggression among themselves (M = 46.50, SD = 14.54). Further, the results revealed that increase in academic stress and use of negative methods of discipline increases the likelihood of the occurrence of aggressive behaviour (β = .251,p< .001 andβ = .237, p< .001), respectively. It was therefore recommended that schools been couraged to use positive methods of discipline instead of negative methods, and that they further regulate academic programmes to include co-curricular activities in order to reduce academic stress. In addition, there is an urgent need for psychologists to be employed in all schools for further psychological interventions, besides the regular teacher interventions which are limited to purely aiding classroom instruction.
Teachers’ welfare: a “major predictor” of government-aided primary schools’ performance in South Western Uganda, Isingiro District, using hierarchical multiple regression approach”
(AJPO Journals, 2025-09-13) Mujuni, Mbiire Batwine Perez
The purpose of this research was to find out the impact of teachers’ welfare on performance of government aided primary schools in South Western Uganda, Isingiro district. Across sectional research design and post-positivist paradigm were used to collect datafrom 118 government aided primary schools in South Western Uganda, Isingiro District, where 475 respondents participated in the study. The study used closed-ended questionnaires, interview guide, and checklists. The schools to be included were selected using simple random sampling and were considered as unit of analysis while the respondents who included District officials, head teachers, teachers and school management committee members formed the unit of enquiry, these were selected purposively based on the knowledge they had on the subject matter. Each school selected, provided the information from the respondents, who in this case were the head teacher, two (2) teachers and a chairperson of school management committee member. The research was guided by the null hypothesis, Ho1: Teachers’ welfare has no significant relationship with performance of government-aided primary schools in Southwestern Uganda, Isingiro District. The findings of the study revealed a positive significant relationship between teachers’ welfare and performance of government aided performance primary school at 99% level of confidence (r=.546, p<.01), thus rejecting the null hypothesis (Ho1). The results signify that increase in teachers’ welfare, is highly associated with good performance of government aided primary schools in South Western Uganda, Isingiro District. The Unique contribution of this studywas, to suggest to the government through the Ministry of Education & Sports that, since teachers’welfareis the most importantpredictor of performance for government aided primary school, it is advisable that it should impose the minimum-wage law for government aided primary school teachers’ pay which possibly caters for teachers’ motivation when given some due care and attention. In addition, the Ministry of Education & Sports should create social benefits for government aided primary school teachers as a means to enhance their well-being and motivate them. Moreover, it is also recommended that government aided primary schools’ teachers be given some allowances such as rental, medical care and transport to motivate them.
Economic growth through gender parity: evidence from education, labour, and governance in Uganda
(Science Direct, Elsevier, 2025-04-19) Mubiinzi, Geoffrey; Mutumba, Ssebabi Geoffrey
This study examines the extent to which gender parity in education, labour force participation, and governance influences Uganda's economic growth. It investigates whether progress in these dimensions of gender equality leads to sustained economic benefits by analysing both short- and long-run effects using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and annual data from 1997 to 2023. The results reveal contrasting effects: while educational parity has a positive but statistically insignificant long-run impact, suggesting that increased female enrolment alone is insufficient for economic transformation, labour force parity exerts a significant negative long-run effect due to structural inefficiencies, such as occupational segregation and under-employment. By contrast, governance parity, measured by female representation in parliament, demonstrates a significant short-run positive effect, indicating that inclusive decision-making can yield immediate economic gains, although its long-run effect remains statistically insignificant due to institutional constraints. These findings highlight the need for structural reforms to enhance the quality of female employment, institutional governance effectiveness, and the alignment between education and labour market demands. Policymakers should prioritize gender-sensitive policies that foster productive employment, strengthen governance reforms, and improve economic returns on educational parity to maximize the contribution of gender equality to economic growth. This study provides empirical evidence supporting gender-inclusive economic strategies, offering valuable insights for Uganda and similar economies in sub-Saharan Africa.