Community Perceptions on the Contributions of Public Universities to Community Transformation

Abstract

Much as the role of higher education has been recognised for promoting development globally, communities surrounding universities in Sub-Saharan Africa are still grappling with poor quality health, low income, poor housing, unreliable electricity and othersocial amenities. This study determined community perceptions of the contributions of Gulu University to community transformation in post-conflict northern Uganda. A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect data while using researcher-administered questionnaires and geospatial techniques. Questionnaire data was analysed using principal component analysis, and descriptive statistics while geospatial data was analysed using buffers, spatial join tool, and overlay analysis in GIS environment. Findings revealed that the economic, political, spiritual and physical dimensions were important in explaining the transformation of communities surrounding Gulu University. The community surrounding Gulu University is perceived to have progressed well in terms of savings, business, commercial farming, and civil service; consumption of more than 3 meals per day, access to credit and remittances; easy access to health care, and quality education. The majority of the population can make free and independent decisions, are good at self-expression, exercise love for one another, enjoy living with community members, are at peace with one another, exercise kindness, waste is properly managed, and there is good access to water. However, there is slow progress in having alternative sources of income, only a few community members perceived: their level of education to have improved, participate in leadership and are taking part in politics. There is also a scarcity of respect for one another, endurance and faithfulness. The study concludes that (i) households need to think of alternative ways of generating income, given its relevance in enabling households to meet their daily income, (ii) education policies and other stakeholders need to provide more support for community members to pursue higher levels of education, (iii) more civic education to create awareness on the importance of participating in leadership and politics, and (iv) a need by religious sects to continue with more teachings on respect for one another, endurance and faithfulness in the community surrounding Gulu University.