Namirembe Bitamazire
Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire (born 17 July 1941) is a Ugandan academic and politician. She is the Chancellor of the Uganda Management Institute. She was minister of education from 1979 to 1980 and again from 2005 to 2011. She also served as the member of parliament representing Mpigi District women in the Ugandan Parliament from 2001 to 2011.
Quotes
[edit]- I have lived in this house for more than 40 years. I have no security officers and being a teacher, my home is open to any good-hearted person
- While serving as a minister, I didn’t like security officers but was coerced to have one. Still, my officers were usually plain-clothed because I didn’t want to scare people.
- If you can’t hear me, feel free and ask me to repeat. I have a problem with my audibility. I have had this problem for about 10 years. I have been a cancer survivor for 12 years now and this affected my voice
- I always fear to talk with people for fear of being judged. I used to be a vibrant woman and speak on every forum but after my treatment, I have since failed to restore my once strong voice. I thank God for my miraculous recovery.
- I have the education sector at heart because my parents could not afford much, but they ensured that I studied at the best schools and attained university education. To date, I read a lot because I got a solid foundation for what has become a remarkable career
- I hear many people still referring to me as Maama UPE and I feel humbled. I traversed every corner of the country encouraging parents to send children to school. I dedicated my teaching career to this program and I believe that I left an indelible mark on both UPE and USE
- I know UPE graduates who are running serious government projects. Isn’t this good progress?”.
“However, UPE structures are still lacking in some parts of the country due to underfunding. I want to live long so that I see whether free universal education shall even be better when the oil money comes as promised by the president.”
