Kyambogo University remains defiant in the face of the National Council for Higher Education’s orders to direct the closure of its five study centers spread countrywide. A letter by NCHE, led by the Executive Director Prof. Mary Okwakol, last month termed the centers in Soroti, Bushenyi, Masindi, Butebo, and Bukedea as “illegal” and unapproved, with an order to shut them down.
In response, Vice Chancellor Prof. Eli Katunguka has come out very strongly to defy the directive on grounds that these centers are legally recognized and are a necessity. “These centres are not going to close. They will continue operating and offering their programmes,” he has asserted.
He said Kyambogo University is operating within the full confines of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, which caters for both in-service and pre-service teacher education. The study centres, as former components of the now-integrated Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo, formed a hub of upgrading the qualifications of Grade III Cadre teachers to Grade V, in response to directives from the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Prof. Katunguka further added that the Ministry of Education is asking Kyambogo, in particular, to go ahead with its programs until new regulatory bodies are formed. This move just goes on to cement the university’s commitment to the discharge of its educational mandates despite regulatory mishaps.
