Professor Eli Katunguka contends that the issues outlined in the letter were not representative of the National Council for Higher Education as a whole but rather the concerns of individuals with personal interests, and that to the best of his knowledge, the centres are operating legally and will remain open for the foreseeable future.
Professor
Eli Katunguka, the vice chairperson of Kyambogo University, has responded to
the National Council for Higher Education, clarifying that the university's
study centres are not illegal, contrary to the council's recent assertion.
In
a letter dated July 2, the National Council for Higher Education instructed
Kyambogo University to shut down several of its study centres, declaring them
illegal due to their lack of official recognition.
The
council's correspondence also raised concerns about the legitimacy of awards
issued by these centres, sparking anxiety among the 1,129 students enrolled
there. The letter warned that the continued operation of these centres violated
legal standards and undermined the validity of the qualifications being
offered.
However,
Professor Eli Katunguka contends that the issues outlined in the letter were
not representative of the National Council for Higher Education as a whole but
rather the concerns of individuals with personal interests. He maintains that,
to the best of his knowledge, the study centres are operating legally and will
remain open for the foreseeable future.
//Cue in; “When national council...
Cue out...of one person.”//
The
centres in question include the Bushenyi and Soroti campuses, as well as the
former Kamurasi Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) in Masindi, the former
Kabwangasi PTC in Butebo, and the former Bukedea PTC in Bukedea.
Professor Katunguka explained that the Bushenyi and Soroti centres were established
by the university council in 2017. This initiative was part of Kyambogo
University's commitment to offering quality, affordable, and accessible
education to students who could not easily reach the main campus.
He
further clarified that the other centres were inherited from the defunct
Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK) and have been providing distance
education programs since the 1990s to upgrade Grade III and V teachers.
“The
programmes running the learning centres and distance education centres were
accredited by national council for higher learning," he added. "they are administered under
the respective schools/ faculties and coordinated by the institute of distance
learning, e-learning and learning centres. Additionally, the learning centres
are part of Kyambogo University’s approved structure by the ministry of public
service.”
He further added that, to
advance the function of ensuring teacher upgrades, the Ministry of Education
has recently transferred the phased-out Pider PTC to Kyambogo. This centre will
be used to help teachers from Northern Uganda upgrade their qualifications to
meet the national teacher policy requirements, which require that all teachers
hold a degree.
A source at the university
attributes the ongoing issues to power struggles within the National Council
for Higher Education, which have extended to and are affecting Kyambogo University, where
Professor Eli Katunguka serves as the Vice Chancellor.
“These
centres have been here for years, and the NCHE has done nothing to declare them
illegal until now, amidst their recent conflicts," said the source.
The law requires prior
approval of NCHE for a University to establish a branch or a campus of the university in any other
part of Uganda.
