Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa challenges graduates to use their skills to create jobs. He emphasises innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship among youth.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has urged graduates to focus on creating opportunities rather than waiting for formal employment. He encouraged them to utilise their skills to innovate, build enterprises, and contribute to solving Uganda’s pressing challenges.
While addressing over 2,000 graduates at Nkumba University’s 27th graduation ceremony on Saturday, 25 October 2025, Tayebwa said the country’s progress relies on young leaders who can turn ideas into real solutions.
“What lies ahead is the responsibility to use the knowledge, skills, and values you have gained here to transform your lives and those of the people around you,” he said. “In an age of global disruption and innovation, your generation must be agile, creative, and proactive.”
Tayebwa commended Nkumba University for its community-based digital learning project, which supports 32 primary schools across Uganda in adopting e-learning methods. He encouraged graduates to draw inspiration from such initiatives and apply similar ideas in their own communities.
The Deputy Speaker also appreciated the contribution of private universities to Uganda’s education system.
“If we had only remained with government institutions, I do not know where all the students from our secondary schools would be admitted,” Tayebwa noted.
He said these institutions have made higher education more accessible to many Ugandans.
Nkumba University Chancellor Emmanuel Katongole urged graduates to uphold four key values—confidence, competence, creativity, and character—saying these will define their long-term success.
“Degrees may open doors, but it is these virtues that will keep those doors open,” Katongole remarked.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Jude Lubega thanked the government for the recent financial support, including a Shs4.4 billion tax waiver and a Shs300 million capitalisation grant. He appealed for more investment in the university’s new ICT Centre of Excellence, particularly in artificial intelligence and data science laboratories, to prepare students for the future of work.
