By Spy Uganda
Hundreds of Kayiwa International University students who were stranded on their academic journey after the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) shut down their university for the breach of minimum operating standards, now have their hope restored, thanks to Victoria University under the stewardship of Prof.Lawrence Muganga.
Victoria University, after a request from a section of students of Kayiwa International University, has resolved to admit all those who want to join and re-start or complete their studies, at a subsidized and flexible fees payment plan.
According to the Vice Chancellor of Victoria University Prof. Lawrence Muganga, students who had joined the Kayiwa International University before NCHE revoked its licence will be allowed to use the Credit Transfer Window. “However, those who joined Kayiwa International University after revocation of its licence, will have to re-start their academic programmes, as we aspire to be a University of solutions, to any Ugandan, who cares about quality education, under our new standardized and revamped mode of higher education teaching and assessment.”
All students from the troubled university, will be allowed to join Victoria University on a bursary. The bursary will cater for all students on diploma and degree programmes, as long as they meet the required minimum standards for university education, as set by the laws, under the NCHE.
Apart from the bursary offer, the students will also be supported in securing laptops, at a subsidized rate, which they can pay off in installments for the entire period they will be at the university.
Prof. Muganga, confirmed the development stating thus; “Victoria University is open for whoever wants to join it, as long as he or she meets the set admission guidelines we have set; as guided by the National Council for Higher Education. We also appreciate the fact that some of these students’ parents have already incurred a loss, by repeating their academic programmes (courses). Based on this, we will offer a bursary to all the students, from Kayiwa International University, who choose to join us.”
The NCHE, at the beginning of last month, held a press conference and announced that it closed Kayiwa International University, based in Namirembe; save for the fact that it illegally continued to operate and award degrees. Kayiwa International University, is owned by Pastor Simeone Kayiwa, who is the lead pastor at Namirembe Christian Fellowship Church, in Kampala.
The NCHE, on June 10, this year, declared that all documents that had been issued to graduates on the graduation ceremony, were illegal and could not be used to seek jobs anywhere in the world.
Cyrus Mugenyi, an official from NCHE said the institution was given a letter of accreditation in 2015, and 2017, the same Council issued Kayiwa International University, with a letter warning it of its plans to revoke their licence, for not following the set guidelines. But, NCHE says there was no improvement and all the guidance given was ignored by the institutions, prompting it to revoke their licence in 2019. “When we granted them the licence, they had promised to adhere to all the set standards, but they failed, prompting us, as the regulatory body to withdraw their licence in 2019,” Mugenyi explains.
He explained that even before the closure, the NCHE held a series of meetings with the Kayiwa International University management, but the two parties failed to reach a consensus. Mugenyi said that in 2019, NCHE decided to carry out another inspection but the university management failed to meet the minimum requirements to operate and this prompted the withdrawal of its licence in 2019, and subsequently closed it.
On August 23, 2019, during the 52 sitting of the NCHE, it was resolved to revoke the operating licence of Kayiwa International University. Unfortunately, the university sent ahead to dupe more students into joining it.
