UNBS targets students in standards awareness drive

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) states that it has equipped its staff in eastern border areas with modern detection equipment to maintain standards for both manufactured and agricultural products, including imports and exports.

Ronald Ssekabira, the UNBS senior information and development officer, says the agency has continued to improve its services to avoid infiltration of substandard goods across all borders.

Ssekabira made the remarks on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at Busitema University’s engineering and innovation faculty during an awareness drive to universities and other centres of academic excellence, targeting learners to promote standards for innovations among the young generation.

According to the quality assurance and regulatory body, the uptake of standards among manufacturers is still wanting, and now the agency wants to ensure that the upcoming manufacturers are empowered at an early age to know the importance of standards.

He said the agency has decided to engage students by encouraging them to adhere to standards in improving the creative economy internationally.

He noted that the world is dominated by creativity and innovations; however, the element of standards and quality assurance stands threatening to many, and the market that consumes the manufactured products ends up in danger due to the negligence and non-adherence to standards.

The engagement, according to Ssekabira, aims at empowering the students who are the future manufacturers with general knowledge about the creative economy and the role of standards.

Don't leave room 

During the engagements, students appealed to the regulatory body to refrain from leaving room for disparities in standards, citing incidences where products for export are given more attention than those to be consumed locally, saying that this breeds flooding of substandard products.

They equally asked the Government to consider lowering costs for certifying innovations by local and upcoming innovators.

The Dean of the faculty lauded the government's regulatory agency for the rollout of awareness, saying that knowledge is needed especially in this era, where young people are slowly emerging as leaders in innovation and creativity. 

He said the culture of underscoring and dodging standards should be discouraged in the country, and the competition will be a milestone to change the mindset of the young innovators.