Decolonising access for Performing Arts Training at Makerere University: The Legacy of Rose Mbowa

Abstract

Access and relevance have been central in the pursuit of a university education responsive to the development agenda of post-colonial Uganda. In Makerere University, the drive involved critical engagement with hegemonic constraints predicated by an interplay of historical drivers, many of them rooted in colonialism. This paper explores initiatives in Uganda and Africa towards the decolonisation of universities in Africa to centre the African/indigenous context and epistemic bases, enable access to education, provide curriculum responsiveness and ensure pedagogical relevance as imperatives in decolonisation and national (re)construction. Performing arts education was faced with limitations specific to its context of limited academic value owing to a hegemonic hierarchization that devalued scholarship and practice informed by indigenous epistemic bases and cultural practice. This article uses reports, interviews and archival materials to explore the role of Rose Mbowa, a drama teacher and practitioner at Makerere University, in decolonising the matriculation window to increase access for Performing Arts training and enabling university-community collaborative pedagogical contexts to empower learners and the community.