Five Universities Teaching 222 Expired Courses- AG Muwanga

The Auditor General, John Muwanga, has revealed that five public Universities in Uganda are teaching 222 expired courses.

These include; Makerere University (120), Kyambogo University (63), Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) (21), Makerere University Business School (MUBS) (15) and Gulu University (3).

“Analysis of programmes from the five Universities revealed that out of the 629 programmes, only 332 were accredited, 138 had been sent to NCHE for accreditation, while 222 were not accredited,” read in part the report.

Muwanga made the revelation while handing over the annual audit report for the Financial Year ending June 2023, to the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Anita Among.

In May last year, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa blamed the ‘expired’ courses crisis on the misuse of strong words and directed the National Council for Higher Education to declassify ‘expired’ courses as “under review”.

He challenged the Ministry of Education and Sports on its programme accreditation and review policy.

At least 1,470 programmes have expired over the last five years, according to the NCHE.

The affected programmes include both graduate and undergraduate courses, and the expiry period differs according to the academic institutions.

The State Minister for Higher Education, Hon. John Chrysostom Muyingo, said the ‘expiry’ of accreditation, as reflected on the NCHE website, means that the programme needs re-assessment to establish whether the key aspects upon which accreditation was granted are still in place.

Muyingo assured the public that the qualification of graduates on programmes that have received prior accreditation, in accordance with NCHE minimum standards and regulations are valid.