Ensuring Legitimacy of Educational Programs in Uganda.

The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) recently took away over 1,000 academic programs from their list of approved courses. This has caused a lot of problems for students who were planning to go to college in Uganda or even study abroad.

The reason behind this decision is that the universities didn't keep up with the rules for reviewing and re-accrediting their programs. These programs were labeled as "expired" before, but now they're just "due for review" to make it sound a little better.

This all started back in 2023 when some international universities said no to Ugandan degrees because they weren't up to date with their accreditation. Even though they changed the wording, students are still having trouble proving their qualifications for college or jobs.

One student who got caught up in this mess is a graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiography at Makerere University. She applied to the University of Bristol in the UK, but they said no because her program's accreditation expired before she even started. Makerere University and NCHE couldn't give her the proof Bristol needed for her study years.

There are a lot of students in the same boat, stuck in a mess of paperwork while universities and NCHE try to figure things out. This whole situation is showing that there are some big problems in Uganda's higher education system.

Professor Buyinza.

University and NCHE Positions

Professor Buyinza from Makerere University talked about how reviewing programs can take a long time, especially for science courses that need lab tests and quality checks.

The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) is trying to catch up on the reviews. Vincent Ssembatya, who works at NCHE, said that about 3,050 programs are good to go, but 660 are still waiting for the green light.

If schools didn't finish their reviews by November 30, 2023, they can't accept new students for those programs until they get re-accredited.

Comprehensive List of Affected Programmes

Below is a full list of the programmes impacted across various universities:

Makerere University

Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

Master of Instructional Design and Technology

Bachelor of Youth Development Work

Bachelor of Geographical Sciences

Master of Science in Disaster Risk Management

Master of Science in Wildlife Health and Management

Master of Education

Bachelor of Industrial Livestock Business

Bachelor of Information Systems and Technology

Master of Science in Records and Archives Management

Master in Bioethics

Kyambogo University

Master of Public Health

Bachelor of Economics and Statistics

Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Instruction

Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences

Master of Arts in Economics

Diploma in Deaf Studies

Diploma in Food Processing Technology

Bachelor of Adult and Community Education

Postgraduate Diploma in Community-Based Rehabilitation

Bachelor of Demography and Reproductive Health

Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Master of Science in Physiology

Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences (Diploma Entry)

Master of Medicine in Emergency Medicine

Diploma in Emergency Medicine for Emergency Care Practitioners

Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Master of Education in Curriculum Instruction and Media

Bachelor of Gender and Women Health

Uganda Christian University

Bachelor of Economics and Management

Bachelor of Dental Surgery

Bachelor of Computer Science

Diploma in Procurement and Logistics

Bachelor of Business Computing

Master of Nursing Sciences

Gulu University

Bachelor of Development Studies

Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship Skills Development

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Bachelor of Information Technology (Business Computing)

Master of Science in Information and Communication Technologies for Development

Islamic University of Uganda

Bachelor of Library and Information Science

Bachelor of Social Sciences

Diploma in Records Management

Master of Science in Environmental Science

Diploma in Library and Information Science

Kumi University

Bachelor of Commerce

Diploma in Languages

Bachelor of Community Development

Busitema University

Diploma in Catering and Hospitality Management

Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health

Diploma in Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Victoria University

Master of Arts in Public Administration and Management

Bachelor of Environmental Health Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Bugema University

Foundation Programme (Science)

Foundation Programme (Arts)

Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies

NCHE wants to make sure that when you sign up for a program at a school, it's actually legit. They're telling schools to start checking their accreditation a year before it expires. NCHE is also teaming up with other important people to make sure schools get re-accredited quickly and make sure everyone trusts Uganda's education system.

It's super important to have a smooth process for accreditation so that students can have a bright future and Uganda can keep its good reputation in the world of education.