This article was first published in the New Vision on January 27, 2021
Prof. Eriabu Lugujjo
As Senior Six students prepare to sit for their national examinations, it is important for them to start thinking, if they have not yet done so, about the best available universities they can join.
There are many institutions out there which are already registering and committing students to join them after their A’level, yet they are not licensed or even chartered. Do not be duped into the traps of fake and unlicensed or unchartered universities.
There are several options of the universities one can join after A’level; in Uganda or even outside the country. But, this time, I will restrict myself to chartered universities in the country.
The most organised and prepared universities available in Uganda are the chartered ones. In this case, I am referring to the level of the university’s organisation, human resource capacity, infrastructure and ability to conduct reasonable research.
In total, there are about 10 universities in the country which are chartered.
A chartered university, according to Section 103 (a) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 as amended, means such a university is comparable to a public university.
The same Act says a charter is, “Granted by the President as evidence that the university meets the requirements and standards of academic excellence set by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).”
The argument here is that by the time the Government opens a university, it must have at least obtained the basic minimum standards. In Uganda, all public universities are charted and no wonder, have the highest enrolment. There are also a few privately-owned universities.
For any private university, getting a charter means that it lays out guidelines for; establishment, control, management and administration of the institution.
To get a charterer means you have been granted authority by the Government; the full and highest of a right… to exercise the responsibility of running a university. It is a sovereign right given by the head of state in any state. As a student, this is one way to be sure that you have secured your education. Unless you are sure that the university you want to join is at least licensed, if not charted; you might waste your money and time joining it. A university may not be chartered, but it had better be licensed, at least, as a bare minimum.
Although Section 131 of the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions Act requires all universities to have a charter, almost 70% of the universities in the country are not chartered. This does not mean they are not worth admitting students. They can admit and teach your students, but the issue is that they do not have all the expectations of a fully-fledged university.
Before a university is chartered, it is always expected to have presence of academic, administrative and other supportive services, including an administrative block and lecture halls. The other expectations are that it should have seminar rooms, special purpose rooms, library, laboratories, workshops, staff housing and other facilities as per the council’s checklist of capacity indicators.
More so, a chartered university is expected to have the operation procedures, bylaws and regulations approved by the governing council of the institution.
Such a university should have course programmes, curricular, student assessment procedures, examination regulations for initial and future programmes approved by the institutions’ organs and ratified by NCHE. All new programmes have to be accredited by NCHE.
So, as a student, plan and choose wisely. Ensure that your university is chartered and at a bare minimum, it must be licensed. Short of that, you will be messing up your future.
The writer is the vice-chancellor of Ndejje University and has served for over 30 years in private and public universities
