Plans to reopen Busoga University in time for the August admission cycle have been delayed as government awaits President Museveni’s guidance on the institution’s name before completing the legal process required to operationalise it as a public university.
The delay comes despite the completion of major refurbishment works at the Iganga based campus, with authorities still required to finalise statutory approvals and establish the structures needed for the institution to begin operations.
Name approval stalls process
The Acting Minister of Education and Sports, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, said consultations on the university’s proposed name had been concluded, but the process could not proceed until Museveni gives his views on the options presented.
“We wanted to start something that is acceptable to all Ugandans. There were some challenges and we had to consult many stakeholders,” Dr Muyingo told Daily Monitor in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
He said the naming of the institution became one of the issues that prolonged the transition process.
“Some people wanted it to remain Busoga University, while others proposed Kiira University and other names. We have now concluded the consultations and are left with only one stakeholder, the President,” he said.
Dr Muyingo said the transition committee had submitted a report to Museveni seeking guidance on the preferred name.
“We have sent him the report so that he can also give us his views on the names proposed by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and other stakeholders,” he said.
Once the president gives his position, the proposal will move to Cabinet before being presented to Parliament for approval through a statutory instrument that will formally establish the institution as a public university.
NCHE completes inspection
NCHE said it had completed its role in the transition process after inspecting the university and submitting its assessment report to the Ministry of Education and Sports.
NCHE spokesperson Saulo Waigolo noted that the remaining steps were now the responsibility of the ministry and other government agencies.
“Beyond that, it is not within our mandate,” Waigolo added.
Shs3.8b refurbishment completed
While the legal process remains pending, the physical infrastructure required for the university has been prepared.
The chairperson of the Busoga University Transition Task Force, Prof John Tabuti, said the completion of refurbishment works at the Iganga main campus marked a major milestone towards establishing the institution as a public university.
The refurbished facilities were handed over on July 20 by the UPDF Civil Engineers Brigade, which renovated lecture blocks, administration offices, libraries, laboratories, the main hall and other facilities.
The project, funded by the Ministry of Education and Sports, cost Shs 3.795 billion.
Prof Tabuti ‘appealed to stakeholders to continue supporting the remaining processes required to establish the institution.’
Institutional structures pending
Despite the completed renovations, the university will still be required to establish key governance and academic structures before admitting students.
The institution will need to constitute a university council, appoint key management officials and recruit academic and administrative staff in line with requirements for a public university.
The pending approvals also come as the August admission cycle gets underway, with government-sponsored students already allocated to existing public universities and admissions continuing at other accredited institutions.
Fast-tracking statutory instruments
Iganga South MP Andrew Kaluya Namitego said stakeholders were optimistic that the remaining legal processes would be completed soon to allow the university to begin operations.
“We are very happy that Busoga University is finally taking shape. Some of us saw this dream being born, and we are happy that the government accepted to take over the university,” said Kaluya, who is also the Shadow Minister for Education,
He added: “We are fast-tracking the issue of the statutory instruments, which we hope we shall achieve in the very near future.”
Kaluya said the university’s development should be treated as a regional priority beyond political differences.
“When it comes to development, parties are not the issue. We want to speak the language of development,” he said.
He also commended the Church of Uganda for providing land for the university and supporting the transition process.
Church urges speedy completion
The Bishop of Busoga Central Diocese, Rt Rev Patrick Wakula, welcomed the progress made towards establishing the university but urged authorities to complete the remaining processes quickly.
“It is my prayer that we begin as early as possible. We have gone through a lot of history, but even those institutions that have reached where they are today began with one step,” Bishop Wakula said.
He said the Church of Uganda, which owns more than 200 acres of land where the university is located, remained committed to supporting the project while addressing outstanding administrative matters.
Bishop Wakula emphasized that the university would also create opportunities for surrounding communities through increased demand for services and infrastructure development.
Background
Busoga University was closed in 2017 by NCHE after investigations uncovered serious irregularities, including employing unqualified academic staff, offering unaccredited academic programmes and fraudulently awarding degrees to more than 1,000 students, many of them from South Sudan.
In January 2018, Museveni directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to begin the process of taking over Busoga University and Mountains of the Moon University as public institutions.
The government later constituted a committee chaired by Dr Muyingo to spearhead the transition of Busoga University into a public university.
A six-member task force led by environmentalist Prof Tabuti was also appointed to oversee the transition. Other members are Prof Katwalo Mulengani, Prof Lydia Emuron, Prof Mary Muhenda, Ms Esther Biganja and Mr Maxwell Amula.
Founded in 1999 and affiliated with Busoga Diocese under the Church of Uganda, Busoga University has its main campus in Iganga Municipality.