By Spy Uganda
Raising the quality of universities in Uganda is gradually becoming a complex issue, with the Inspectorate of Government allegedly blocking moves by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) to inspect universities.
According to our sources, a couple of universities are now writing to the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to block inspections or summons by the NCHE. TheSpy Uganda has learnt that this month, three universities had been summoned to appear before the Council but IGG allegedly blocked the move.
”Much as three universities; Team University, King Caesar University, and Great Lakes Regional University, had been summoned by the NCHE, on May 16, 2022 to appear on June 13, 2022 and explain non-compliance issues; five days to their appearance, the IGG blocked the process,” says the source.
In a June 7, 2021 letter signed by the IGG Beti Kamya, headed, “Alleged Abuse of Office in the Management of Charter Application process,” she ordered that the process be halted.
In her letter, Kamya says she received a complaint from a whistleblower alleging abuse of office of some of the staff at NCHE, who allegedly hold private universities at ransom because of their unwillingness to connive with officials of the Council.
”Save for the fact that these universities haven’t reached the level of applying for the Charter, since they are at their initial stages of existence according to NCHE, the IGG in her view thinks they were applying for the Charter,” a Ministry of Education official, on condition of anonymity said adding; “She is obviously misguided and is making a mistake. Does she understand what it takes to apply for a Charter? The NCHE is telling you that the universities have operational anomalies and you are thinking of a Charter?”
Source reveals that much as two of the universities did not show up, one of them; Great Lakes Regional University, went ahead and wrote to the IGG saying that they see value in what the NCHE was doing and hence saw no reason as to why the process was being blocked.
In the Great Lakes Regional University’s letter to the IGG, they informed Kamya, that she needs to let the NCHE proceed with the engagements with it concerning the issues raised against the University, and that they are not part of the whistleblowing. The Great Lakes Regional University says that an engagement with the NCHE will enable it continue with the process of application for the Charter.
The university also told the IGG, that they hope that their engagement with the NCHE would enable them handle the re-accreditation of their academic programmes, and the halted graduation of 113 students who completed studies in 2019 and 2020.
