Kampala, (UG):- At least 2025 students of Busoga University are facing a dark future after the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) said it will not recognise the academic credentials awarded by the Iganga-based varsity.
NCHE revoked the University’s license seven years ago for allegedly lacking qualified staff, teaching uncredited courses and awarding fake degrees to more than 1,000 students, mainly of South Sudanese descent, who went on to graduate within a space of two months at the last graduation in 2016.
The NCHE listed other issues for the revocation among which included the admission of students without requisite admission criteria, illegal affiliation, lack of up-to-date student records, and failure to conduct progressive student assessments, among others.
Despite the revocation, Monitor reports that the university continued to irregularly conduct lectures for at least 366 students, while a total of 1,659 students have their graduation pending.
A recent visit to the university by the local publication found the gates of the institution open, with offices operating normally, and students were studying without interruption. “The university was not closed, but only had its licence revoked which does not mean not teaching students,” a source at the institution told the publication.
But when contacted, the NCHE spokesperson, Mr Saul Waigolo, reiterated the Council’s statement and affirmed that a total of 2,025 students’ degrees will be invalidated.
Pressed to explain the logic behind continuing to hold lectures despite the license revocation, Mr Waigolo said Busoga University faces several risks including awarding illegal qualifications to students, teaching unaccredited academic programmes, and obtaining money from unsuspecting members of the public in the form of tuition by pretence, among others.
“We only recognise students who graduated at the last university’s graduation in 2016, and not the rest of students who have been attending lectures since the license was revoked.”
Busoga University was in February 2018, handed over to the Ministry of Education to expedite its reopening as a public institution following a directive by President Museveni.
In April 2018, the state minister for Higher Education, Dr Chrysostom Muyingo, was appointed to chair the committee to spearhead its takeover as a public institution.
In July 2023, the Ministry of Education appointed a six-member taskforce committee to kick start the process of reopening the institution but the resumption of the University has since faced backlashes and postponements with the Ministry now saying it (Busoga University) will reopen in the next (2025/2026) academic year.
What next for Busoga University and its graduates
According to the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act (2001) as amended “…the suspension or revocation of a licence shall not affect the validity or other status of any Certificate, Diploma, Degree or other academic award granted by the university in question when still under a provisional licence.”
Mr Waigolo stressed that when the NCHE revoked the licence, they requested the university administration to work towards transferring the continuing students, who had requisite admission criteria, to other universities but it instead sought litigation.
In the wake of all this, the NCHE has since petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to intervene in the alleged illegal opening of the embattled Busoga University.
“We have learnt from the media, …that the former Busoga University has allegedly continued to operate despite the revocation of the provisional licence. The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to request you to investigate the matter and take appropriate action,” a letter dated September 24, signed by the NCHE executive director Prof Mary Okwakol addressed to the IGP reads in part.
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