Online Universities Demand for Recognition in Universities Act

The Vice Chancellor of Virtual University of Uganda, an online university, Prof Everd Bikaitwoha Maniple has appealed to government to fast track their proposal to include online universities within the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act.

Bikaitwoha made the appeal during a graduation ceremony held by Virtual University Uganda where a total of 17 students graduated in different disciplines.

Bikaitwoha said that the current Act is obsolete since at the time it was written, there were no online universities in Uganda.

“Virtual University students do not seat in the same class room. When we interacted with the National Council for Higher Education, the standards have not yet changed. They are still looking at a university were students must attend classes face to face with the lecturers,” Bikaitwoha said.

“The Act has not been changed to reflect the existence of the online universities and because of that, we find the environment we are operating in rather difficult but we are complying with the standards set for the physical Universities though we would like the law to be adjusted to reflect the actual reality.”

At the ceremony held at the university premises in Muyenga, 10 graduands received awards for Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Masters, in Project Management, Public Health, International Development, Business Administration and ICT.

During the function, the Chancellor, Flavia Senoga Anglin appreciated the graduands for having opted to study at VUU.

She assured them that their choice was made in the right direction since Virtual University is a university of the future.

“Your vision in choosing to do online postgraduate education will propel you far in your careers, you will not regret the evenings you spent online with your lecturers because online education in the most appropriate education for the 21st century,” Anglin said.