Kyambogo University, Uganda
Kyambogo University was established in 2003 by merging Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo, the Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo, and the Uganda National Institute of Special Education. It strives to advance and promote knowledge and development of skills in Science, Technology and Education, and in other fields important to equity, progress and transformation of society. The university has mainstreamed consultancy and community programs as part of its core functions. It implements government programmes in partnership with ministries but also partners with professional bodies and organisations for disabled people.
KYU has 6 faculties and 2 schools: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Special Needs & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Vocational Studies, School of Management & Entrepreneurship, School of Post Graduate Studies and Research (which coordinates graduate training and research). It also operates an Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) Center.
Project team
Dr. Lawrence Eron is the Dean of the Faculty of Special Needs and Rehabilitation at Kyambogo University. He has been a Lecturer (Hearing Impairment/Inclusive Education) at the University since 1998. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Oslo, Norway. Dr. Eron initiated and chaired the Institutional Disability Policy for Kyambogo University to ensure Disability Inclusion in Higher Education.
Dr. Eron has coordinated the East and Southern African Regional Project on “Human Resource Development for Inclusive Education in Botswana, Swaziland, Kenya and Uganda” - an ACP funded project in collaboration with Roehampton University. He has also worked in partnership with Child-to-Child programme to initiate a proposal and implement a project to Eliminate Child Labour through Education by Kyambogo University in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation. Dr. Eron has been a contact person for Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE) on a DANIDA funded project developing special needs education institutional training and decentralized programmes (SNE /EARS).
Dr. Eron was part of the team that initiated the East African Institutional Special Needs, Inclusive Education and Rehabilitation Linkage between Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. He worked in partnership with the Norwegian Association for the Disabled, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and District Community Based Programmes to develop a CBR approach to Inclusive Education in Tororo, Busia and Kayunga districts. He is also the national coordinator of REACH FORWARD- Making Educational Research count for children with disabilities, in Malawi, Kenya and Uganda - a collaborative research project between the University of Birmingham, Kyambogo University, Kenya Institute of Special Education and Montfort College Malawi supported by Sight Savers International.
Dr. Eron has a vast experience as a consultant in the field of inclusive education, e.g. for Cheshire Services - Uganda (Training of teachers), University of Rwanda – Curriculum development, ACP/EDULINK Project Training Manual on inclusive education, Plan Uganda–Developing a Community Based Rehabilitation Training Manual, Norwegian Association of the Disabled, UNESCO, etc.
Dr. Paul Emong is currently working as a lecturer at the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) and at the Department of Community and Disability Studies, Kyambogo University. He is also involved in consultancy works in human rights, inclusive education, poverty reduction, livelihood and income generating projects human rights consultant.
Dr. Emong has a PhD degree in Human Rights from the University of Leeds, UK. He has 17 years working experience in development work, research and policy analysis, and human rights campaigning for policy change and 10 years working for Action on Disability and Development (ADD) International, 5 of which at management level. He is also a Co-Founder of APKUB Consult Uganda Limited and a member of Skilling Uganda Reform Task Force. Dr. Emong is himself a person with physical disability