Victoria University’s Vice-Chancellor Dr Lawrence Muganga was dragged from his office at Victoria University in Kampala by armed plain-clothed men on Thursday afternoon under the watch of helpless private security guards manning the building. He has whisked away in a drone van to a yet-to-be-identified location.
The uncalled-for manner in which Dr Muganga was arrested triggered anger to citizens and forced the army Spokesperson Brig Flavia Byekwaso to dismiss reports that Dr Muganga had been kidnapped and clarified that he was arrested by the armed forces in connection with espionage and illegal stay in Uganda.
“Social media reports that Vice-Chancellor Victoria University Dr. Lawrence Muganga was kidnapped are false. He was arrested by joint Security Forces in connection with espionage and illegal stay in the country. Investigations into the matter have commenced,” Brig Byekwaso tweeted on Thursday.
However, the management of Victoria University has since said that they are ready to cooperate with security agencies in case they want to make any inquiries about Dr Muganga.
Whereas in one of the charges, the army says Dr Muganga was arrested over illegal stay in the country, it has emerged that the Vice-Chancellor owns a valid Ugandan National Identity Card.
Who is Dr Lawrence Muganga?
Born In Uganda, Dr Muganga is an Education Thought-Leader, Professor of Education, award-winning best-selling author, international curriculum speaker, and passionate about changing the education factory called school.
Dr. Muganga earned his MA in Economic Policy Management from Makerere University and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Leadership from the University of Alberta, Canada. Dr. Muganga holds a Higher Education Teaching Certification from Harvard University, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Muganga has extensively researched and written about a cutting-edge educational paradigm known as Authentic Learning, which, in short, means an education that prepares students for the real world by equipping them with real-life skills to face now and the future.
Often called a school change advocate, he is the author of the must-read Amazon bestselling book called “You Can’t Make Fish Climb Trees: Overcoming Educational Malpractice through Authentic Learning”.
While not as funny as Dr. Seuss, his book has provoked an international conversation about the ills of the education systems around the world.
With a PhD from the University of Alberta and a Higher Education Teaching Certification from Harvard University, Dr. Muganga has dedicated his life to researching and developing Authentic Learning Education. By embracing and bringing authentic learning (a.k.a. real-world learning) to teachers, students and their classrooms Dr. Muganga hopes to create centres of education innovation, create modern schools, redesign classrooms, create bold schools, make learning relevant to the real world, as well as develop a common 21st-century language for teaching and learning.
The goal of authentic learning is to make education a student-centred environment filled with real-world applications throughout the global community.
Drawing from the research of educational experts worldwide, Dr. Muganga advocates for the kind of revolutionized education model that would see students’ individuality used to empower them so that they can navigate their future to find real success and meaning in their lives.
Through his work with a number of universities, schools, governments and organizations of various sizes on long and short term change initiatives Dr.
Muganga has worked with leaders, education managers, policymakers, teachers, students, parents, and community members to develop, implement and support Authentic Learning. His passion for education has given him meaning beyond his own country and his work has taken him to 36 countries around the world, allowing him to be authentic in his hands-on approach
to learning.
Dr Muganga is a husband to Eve and a proud father of seven children.