This year’s Women In Energy Forum Dinner organized by power regulator-ERA, has been dominated with calls to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) to cause reforms into the educational curriculum to include mandatory lessons on Career Guidance.
The forum held under the theme “A Working Strategy to Address Gender Disparities in the Energy Sector,” gave an opportunity for participants to brainstorm on how to increase on the number of women engineers and also promote gender equality in the energy sector.
This well attended debate took place at Gold Course hotel and it brought together the academia, schools, tertiary Institutions and leading women in the energy sector.
However, from the discussions, it was evident that learners are facing difficulties in making informed choices for their future professions due to lack of expert guidance. Some told the meeting that they choose courses on their own while others are influenced by their parents.
This year’s forum was attended by students from Makerere, Nkumba, Busitema, UCU among other universities in addition to students from some secondary schools.
With many of the students offering Arts courses mainly Law at university, some learners were anxious as to whether they had no chance of joining the energy sector since they didn’t do engineering courses.
The learners from mainly university asked NCHE to consider including Career Guidance Lessons as one of the units offered in the curriculum by Tertiary Institutions to enable learners make informed choices on their future professions.
“That’s a great idea and I have noted it. I am going to table it before the Council and see how to fit it in” said Dr. Aminah Nakimuli, the Higher Education officer at NCHE.
However, ERA board chairperson Dr. Wasagali Kanaabi Sarah, restored hope among Arts students saying they stood a chance to join the energy sector because it’s wide. She said on the contrary, there are many non-engineers working in the sector although this comes with a lot of competition for the places that exist.
“We’re not short of Arts staff but we need engineers. We want more women scientists in the sector. However, when doing Arts, please perform well because there’s a lot of competition. Whatever you’re doing, do it with your best effort. We don’t want people with Pass degrees” Dr. Wasagali told the Forum.
She asked learners and education Institutions to make use of the new National Human Development Plan which she said contains courses and professions that are over supplied and those which are on market but are under supplied.
Wasagali said those in teaching profession need to align their lectures with this new NHDP to enable learners pursue marketable courses.
She cautioned girl students doing engineering courses against being intimidated by their boyfriends who dissuade them from pursuing those courses in order to maintain their relationships.
“Girls should tell such boys that you (girls) will be married by a fellow engineer” she counseled after some of the students reported that those who pursue engineering courses are threatened with love termination by their boyfriends because of doing engineering.
She commended learners for showing interest in engineering subjects. Wasagali said the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) intends to traverse the country under it’s community outreach program to talk to rural school girls on the importance of pursuing science-related courses.
“We have come a long way as ERA. Initially, we targeted first world schools but we’re now going to different parts of the country and address those girls in day schools. Next year’s program should be for the remote parts of the country” she said, adding that the aim is to increase on the number of women scientists which she said is still low.
Eng. Judith Nayiga Ssengendo, ERA’s Director-Technical Regulation, counseled girls that being women or their religion is not an excuse to disadvantage themselves. A mother of five, Nayiga said she’s a celebrated engineer and a director.
“So, it’s all possible. As young ladies, be determined. Have your career plan and marriage plan. And then, have mentors that can help you” she said but also challenged parents to always encourage their children to do better.
Officiating at the closure of the forum, the minister for energy and mineral development Ruth Nankabirwa advised that welcomed ERA’s planned initiative of reaching out from rural areas in order to identify potential engineers there so as to widen on the network.
“We have seen people who have come from some progressive high schools somewhere and they have made it. We should widen, identify female leadership in these institutions. Female leaders should be given principles that can guide them throughout their career apart from general technicalities” she advised.
