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The chair of the Busoga University task force, Prof. John Tabuti, has said they have earmarked 13 science courses as the university is being re-opened.

Tabuti said they intend to make it a science-based university. 

The courses focus on public health, agriculture, cooperatives, computer science, environment, nursing, theology, and education. 

Tabuti said that they agreed with the recommendations of the meeting to add four courses that are related to mining engineering, business, economics and community development. 

The university will offer a bridging course/certificate course for many students/individuals who failed or could not get ‘A’ level qualifications to enable them to join it. 

The university plans to start with three campuses with Iganga District as the headquarters targeting science courses and several academic programs, Bugiri District focusing on health courses and Kamuli District for agriculture programs. 

Tabuti raised concerns about some of the land where encroachers build at night, saying they need urgent action by the Police and local authorities to protect the land. 

Tabuti noted that the task force had not been mandated to handle the land issues and that is why it had not tackled it. 

However, the meeting recommended that the task force collaborate with other stakeholders to transfer all the land to the government and prevent encroachers. He said that the task force was not an institution and could not transact business with the government. 

The university is dogged by arrears of sh6b and needs funding of sh60b for a fresh start. It faces land issues, challenges of refurbishing existing buildings and the snail's pace in resolving these bottlenecks. 

Ministers and MPs from Busoga held a meeting on November 16, 2023, at the Cabinet Library Office of the President, to resolve the challenges affecting the re-opening of the university. 

The meeting was chaired by the Second Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama, and attended by Rebecca Kadaga the Second Deputy Prime Minister. 

It was attended by Busoga MPs who felt that the university’s re-opening would coincide with the wedding of Busoga King (Kyabazinga) William Gabula Nadiope IV on November 18, 2023. 

The university was closed in 2017 following accusations of mismanagement, and teaching non-accredited courses. Following the closure, over 1,000 students have waited to graduate or complete their courses. 

Kadaga said that the university existed. Therefore its re-opening should not be very difficult if all the requirements are met quickly. 

Following the closure the university management, Busoga University Ltd and the Church of Uganda resolved that the government take over the university. 

The government set conditions for handing over all the assets, especially land to enable its reopening and release of public funds for its operations and development. It appointed a task force to oversee the transition from a private institution to a public institution. 

Present at the meeting were members of the task force, officials from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), religious leaders and local leaders from the Busoga region. It was coordinated by the Busoga Consortium for Development. 

Prof. Dr Mary Okwakol, the executive director of NCHE, said the university task force should use two months to prepare its academic programs, the physical structures ahead of a meeting with NCHE in January 2024. 

Okwakol explained that the selection of courses for accreditation was a key step for its re-opening. 

She added that they would have a desk review of the university plans before making a physical inspection of the structures. 

Okwakol explained that the council will accept or reject the courses. The council will give their comment on the suitability of the physical structures of the university. 

She said the Cabinet and Parliament are key institutions in approving the re-opening of the university once the council endorses it. Parliament has to pass the statutory instrument for setting up, re-opening, and giving it a budget/vote. 

Kadaga said that the university existed. Therefore its re-opening should not be very difficult if all the requirements are met quickly. 

She noted that not many schools in the region were not able to teach science courses that could enable them to join the university. Hence the university needs a mix of science and arts courses. 

Nakadama expressed the urgency to expedite the transfer of all the available university land to the Government. She said they would work with lands minister Judith Nabakooba over this issue. 

Prof. Lydia Emuron, the deputy chair of the task force, said President Yoweri Museveni directed all university land to be transferred to the Uganda Land Commission to enable the university to get public funds. 

MP Mary Nakato (Buyende) proposed that the university should offer relevant and marketable courses that can enable graduates to create jobs or be employed. She said that courses like mining and engineering were relevant to the region that is endowed with many minerals. 

“You find a person with a masters but doing something not related to what they studied such as selling second-hand clothes in Owino Market,” Nakato said. 

MP Patrick Mayende (Kigulu South) said the university was intended to ease the cost of students from the region travelling long distances for higher education. 

“We need business courses, which many of the students study in other universities. We need arts, environment and practical courses. Otherwise, the university will fail to get students from the region,” Mayende said. 

Busoga University was founded in 1999 by the Church of Uganda. The late Cyprian Bamwoze, the first Bishop of Busoga Anglican Diocese was instrumental in setting up the university. His vision was for it to serve the Busoga communities.