An exiled Ugandan lawyer and writer has ignited debate over teaching methods in African universities after describing how his approach to law instruction led to his dismissal just one week into a teaching role.
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija says he was hired to teach law students at an African university but was removed shortly after introducing what he describes as a practical, discussion-based method aimed at improving critical thinking.
According to him, his approach involved sharing reading materials before lectures so that students could engage in structured classroom discussions rather than receive passive instruction.
“I circulated reading materials to students before each lecture, so that class time could be spent in Socratic discussion rather than passive instruction,” he said. “They would come having read, raise what they did not understand, and we would think through it together.”
He argues that the system exposed a deeper challenge within the classroom, saying most students arrived unprepared and expected to be taught in a traditional lecture format.
“In practice, only a handful ever read anything before arriving. The majority came entirely unprepared, expecting to be fed information they had not sought,” he said, describing the situation as troubling.
He later changed the assessment structure, replacing conventional exams with long-form research work. Each student was required to select a legal issue, receive approval, and submit a 10,000-word analytical paper.
Kakwenza says the shift was meant to discourage rote learning and encourage independent reasoning.
“My view is that cramming and regurgitation… are not only useless in serious academic work but actively dangerous,” he said, adding that legal training should produce thinkers, not memorisers.
However, he claims the submitted work revealed widespread copying and lack of proper citation. He says this prompted him to call in senior university officials, including the dean and academic registrar, to observe oral defences of the assignments.
“What followed was striking. Student after student except three could not explain their own work, not a sentence of it,” he said.
He states that he awarded failing grades and required retakes, a decision that triggered pushback from students, including petitions and threats to transfer en masse if he remained in position.
He further claims the university eventually ended his contract, citing institutional considerations and financial implications tied to student retention.
After leaving the institution, Kakwenza says he relocated to England, where he now lives with his family.