Busoga University reopening hangs in the balance

Students, who intended to join Busoga University, could wait a little longer as its reopening still hangs in the balance.

The university, founded in 1999 and affiliated to Busoga Diocese, under the Church of Uganda, in 2017 had its licence revoked by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).

NCHE cited lack of qualified staff, teaching of uncredited courses, and awarding fake degrees to more than 1,000 students.

But in February 2018, the university was handed over to the Ministry of Education to expedite its reopening as a public institution following a directive by President Museveni.

In April 2018, Dr Chrysostom Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education, was appointed to chair the committee that spearheaded the taking over of Busoga University.

In July 2023, the Ministry of Education appointed a six-member taskforce committee headed by Prof John Tabuti to kick-start the process to reopen the institution.

The former member of the Busoga University transition committee, Mr Patrick Kayemba, said there were still some pending issues.

Mr Kayemba said Church of Uganda recently handed over land to government so that the university can be taken over officially.

“The process of land transfer has been completed. The land now belongs to the government. It was a big condition the President had given, that unless land and titles are entirely in the name of the ministry, it will be difficult to go to the next level,’’ he said.

Mr Kayemba, who is also the former Iganga District chairperson, said the next process is renovation.

“The current infrastructure is inadequate, not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of quality. The committee has finalised and it is working with the Ministry of Education to ensure a budget is provided for renovation, particularly beginning with the headquarters before embarking on branches in Jinja, Kamuli, and Bugiri,” he said.

Mr Kayembe said there is also a special budget that has been allocated to clear the former staff of Busoga University.

He said the accreditation process will kick off immediately after the renovation process is complete.
Mr Kayemba said after accreditation, a Cabinet paper will be presented to Parliament so that it can be declared a public university.

“It is through a Parliamentary Act that a university can now be declared as a public university.

“There has been quite a lot of delays because our political leaders, especially Members of Parliament, have not done enough to ensure that the university reopening is not delayed,’’ he said.

The Provincial Secretary of the Church of Uganda, Rev Can Capt William Ongeng, said they finalised all the pending issues on their side.

“The matter of Busoga University was handled and finished. The church has already done its part and handed over everything to government. The church has nothing to do with Busoga University,’’ he said.

In April last year, the chairperson of the force management committee, Prof John Tabuti, predicted that the university would start operating in the academic year 2023-2024 but its reopening hangs in the balance.

Busoga University, which was established as a private university under the leadership of Busoga’s pioneer Bishop, the late Rt Rev Cyprian Bamwoze, has its headquarters in Iganga District.