Popular educationist and Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr. Lawrence Muganga has asked Uganda government to heavily invest in Digital empowerment to uplift its young population into tech-savvy population to bridge the digital divide.
Speaking on NTV’s Morning@NTV show, Dr Muganga said Uganda is missing a critical opportunity by not channeling resources toward technology and innovation.
“Seventy percent of our population is young and these are tech-savvy individuals who can use technology productively. By not investing in this potential, we’re depriving ourselves of something truly valuable,” Muganga said, adding that digitally empowered youth will become a global resource, especially for aging economies like the USA and Canada.
He proposed the idea of locally assembling learning devices, saying: “As a country, is it really unrealistic or too difficult to adopt a one-child-one-gadget policy? Why not set up a factory in Namanve, import the gadget parts, and assemble them locally?”
On Uganda’s education culture, Dr. Muganga called for digital skillis empowerment rather than degree for the country and the future generations.
“We grew up knowing that having a degree made us relevant to our community and could improve our lives and those of our families and country, but that is no longer the case,” he said.
Uganda launched its Digital Transformation Roadmap in April 2023. The roadmap, which runs from FY2023/24 to FY2027/28, aims to accelerate the country’s digital revolution by achieving specific goals by 2040, such as 90% household connectivity, 90% broadband coverage, and 90% citizen access to e-services
The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance (MoICT&NG), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), undertook a project to develop a Digital Transformation Roadmap for Uganda. The roadmap has been developed as an implementation tool towards achieving the objectives of the Digital Uganda Vision.
The Digital Transformation Roadmap aims to strengthen the implementation of enabling policies and laws to accelerate Uganda’s Digital Revolution. It will provide an overarching implementation framework for a well-connected Uganda that delivers on the opportunities presented by various technologies.