Busoga University to reopen in August

Iganga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Busoga University will reopen in August. This was revealed by the Ministry of Education’s assistant commissioner in charge of university education and training, John Ochira.

In December 2016, the National Council for Higher Education-NCHE revoked the provisional license of Busoga University, which has been in operation since 1998 on several grounds.  The university was operating under the control of Busoga Diocese at the time of closure.

NCHE accused the University of awarding fake degrees, which prompted it to cancel more than 1,000 degrees awarded to students, recruiting unqualified academic staff and accumulating debts among others contrary to the Universities and Other Tertiary Intuitions Act.

At the time of the closure, the university was highly indebted and lacked funds to sustain the daily operational costs of the institution.

However, in 2018, President Yoweri Museveni pledged that the government would take over the university, a process that started.

Last year the university’s re-operationalization taskforce and the Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of understanding, clearing them to expedite the re-opening.

Speaking to stakeholders during the ongoing university’s verification exercise at the main campus in Iganga district on Tuesday, Ochira said that the Church of Uganda already handed over 215 acres of land to the Ministry of Education for development.

He says that the verification exercise will involve an assessment of the existing physical infrastructure and other liabilities, before handing over the site to UPDF’s engineering for the necessary facelifts required to make the buildings viable for habitation.

Ochira also notes that the government has since cleared half of the 15.5 Billion Shillings, which the then privately owned Busoga University owed to different entities, a move he says will enable the university to smoothly operate without any hindrances.

Ochira adds that they are in the process of signing an MOU with the UPDF’s engineering brigade, which will kick off operations in the next two weeks.

The chairperson of Busoga University’s taskforce, John Tabuti says that they have expedited the university’s operational demands ranging from laying out courses to be undertaken by the learners, policies governing the institution and earmarking out some buildings to rollout lectures.

Tabuti says that they have also embarked on the process of recruiting substantive lecturers and other support staff to ensure the maximum operability of the university.

Kigulu South MP, Milton Muwuma says that restoration of Busoga University will not only boost the education services but also revitalize the economic triumph of the area.

Muwuma has advised residents in the neighbouring communities to construct hostels and set up restaurants, saloons and other services to boost their incomes.

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