PSU orders Victoria University to halt pharmacy training for 300 students
In a letter dated November 2, 2026, the society directed the university to immediately stop teaching, assessments and clinical placements for students admitted beyond the approved limit of 50.
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lawrence Muganga. (File photo)
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The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has ordered Victoria University to suspend teaching and clinical training for more than 300 pharmacy students admitted above the institution's approved annual intake, warning that failure to comply could lead to the loss of recognition for its Bachelor of Pharmacy programme.
In a letter dated November 2, 2026, the society directed the university to immediately stop teaching, assessments and clinical placements for students admitted beyond the approved limit of 50.
The directive follows the admission of 364 students for the August/September 2026 intake, more than seven times the approved capacity.
According to PSU, Victoria University organised the students into separate cohorts of 50 in an attempt to accommodate the additional numbers without obtaining regulatory approval.
The university had earlier applied to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) on August 11, 2025, seeking permission to increase its annual intake to 250 students spread across three intakes.
However, PSU said the application did not constitute approval. The society added that a joint inspection by NCHE and their team, required to establish whether the university had adequate facilities and staff to accommodate the proposed numbers, had not been conducted.
The society also cited an NCHE directive issued on December 1, 2023, which limits medical-related programmes to one intake annually, arguing that the university's proposal for three intakes was inconsistent with the directive.
PSU records further show that Victoria University enrolled 895 students across 11 intakes between September 2022 and March 2026.
Regulatory tug-of-war
The directive has brought into focus the respective mandates of NCHE and PSU in regulating pharmacy training at universities.
Saul Waigolo, NCHE's Senior Public Relations Officer, said the council was awaiting guidance on PSU's mandate in overseeing university pharmacy programmes.
Waigolo declined to comment specifically on the Victoria University case, saying the Attorney General had already guided Parliament on the responsibilities of the two bodies.
“The Attorney General guided on that issue in Parliament. Do I need to make a comment? No. I know you are contacting me about Victoria University. Overall, it is about the mandates of NCHE and PSU, which the Attorney General addressed,” he said.
PSU secretary Dr Stephen Lutoti said the society supports expanding pharmacy training but insists that universities must first demonstrate that they have adequate facilities, laboratories and qualified staff.
He warned that admitting more students than the available infrastructure can accommodate compromises training standards and puts patients at risk.
“Training 364 students on infrastructure approved for only 50 produces half-baked graduates and endangers patient safety,” Lutoti said.
He said pharmacy training requires compliance with prescribed student-to-lecturer ratios and access to functional laboratories and sufficient clinical placement sites.
Graduates trained below the required professional standards, he warned, could face difficulties obtaining registration and practising in Uganda and abroad.
On the argument for education tourism, Lutoti said admitting students beyond approved capacity could mislead parents and learners, particularly if they eventually fail to qualify for professional registration.
He also rejected suggestions that PSU was blocking the growth of pharmacy education, saying the society had approved new training institutions over the past five years, increasing their number from three to nine. The expansion, he said, had added capacity to train about 200 pharmacists annually.
University given seven days
PSU has given Victoria University seven days to submit a certified final enrolment list, together with a signed list of exactly 50 students to be retained for the 2026/27 academic year.
The university must also provide a documented list of the more than 314 students placed on hold, with evidence that their instruction and fee collection have been halted.
The society further directed that all core module examinations and practical assessments be conducted physically, although blended teaching is permitted.
It said students must demonstrate practical knowledge of their subjects, including identifying the structural positions of functional groups in drugs such as aspirin and paracetamol.
Citing Section 22(2) of the Pharmacy and Drugs Act, Cap 309, PSU said it was exercising its statutory mandate and warned that failure to comply could lead to the programme's de-recognition.
The directive was copied to the Ministers of Health and Education, parliamentary committees, NCHE and the Uganda Law Society.
University defends expansion
In a commentary published in the New Vision edition of November 3, 2026, the university's Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lawrence Muganga, defended expanding access to pharmacy education, arguing that universities should not limit training according to the jobs currently available.
“No country should tell its brightest young people that their dreams must stop at the edge of today's job list,” Muganga observed.
He argued that education should prepare young people for future opportunities rather than simply respond to existing vacancies.
“If we only train for the jobs we can see today, we are mixing up a budget with a future. Education has never been about filling the jobs that exist right now,” he noted.
Muganga also argued that competition among universities should be encouraged because it improves the quality of education and attracts international students.
“We are told science is for only a few. We are telling them to go somewhere else,” he wrote, pointing to the economic benefits of international students, including their spending on accommodation and other services. Competition between universities should be welcomed, because competition makes everyone better,” he added.
Similar dispute at MUST
The dispute comes amid a similar disagreement involving Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).
On October 19, PSU announced its decision to withdraw recognition of MUST's pharmacy programme. NCHE subsequently maintained that the programme remained accredited and advised students to continue with their studies.
In a letter dated October 27, 2026, addressed to NCHE executive director Prof. Mary J.N. Okwakol, PSU defended its position, drawing a distinction between academic accreditation and professional regulation.
The society said NCHE had failed to adequately regulate student admissions and monitor whether universities maintained the required teaching facilities, staffing levels and clinical training sites.
“While the NCHE asserts its mandate under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act to accredit academic programmes, it has demonstrably failed to regulate admission numbers and to monitor the continued adequacy of teaching facilities, staffing, and clinical training sites for pharmacy programmes,” PSU stated.