Public opinion of armed forces and its effect on graduates’ willingness to join the armed forces at Makerere, Kyambogo and Victoria Universities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the public opinion of armed forces, willingness of graduates at Makerere, Kyambogo and Victoria Universities to join the forces and also the influence of public opinion of armed forces on graduates’ willingness to join the forces. The study had the following objectives; to assess the public’s opinion of armed forces, to examine the level of willingness of graduates to join the armed forces and to examine the relationship between public opinion of armed forces and its effect on graduates’ willingness to join the forces. The study adopted a correlational research design and a random sampling technique was used. Data was collected from 184 respondents using a self- administered questionnaire which was filled in online and was later analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Table 9 showed that there is a significant negative relationship between public opinion and willingness to join the armed at r = -.70** and p<0.01. The results also showed that there is a negative opinion of armed forces and a low level of willingness to join the forces. It was therefore recommended that the armed forces should address the way they handle citizens and also try to motivate graduates to join the forces.