Born Again finally gets Inter Religious Council acceptance, Faith now recognized as a religious denomination

Born Again finally gets Inter Religious Council acceptance

Faith now recognized as a religious denomination

KAMPALA. The Born Again faith commonly known as Balokole have been accepted as  full  members of the Inter Religious Council of Uganda  after government  officially recognised the group  as one of the distinct faiths in the country .

This means that Born Again Faith (BAF) national leader, Pastor Joseph Sserwadda now becomes one of the council of presidents of IRCU.

Over the years, Born Again churches have been considered as NGOs and have been required to renew their registration with the National NGO Registration  Board annually.

Their admission to IRCU qualifies the Balolole to enjoy the same status like other religious denominations like Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Seventh Day Adventists. BAF first applied to become IRCU member in 2009 , but they  were given conditions to fulfill  first .One of the constitutional conditions for joining IRCU  is to belong as an observer while implementing several programmes  such as HIV/Aids ,good governance ,peace and reconciliation with them for at least three years.

BAF spokesperson ,Charles Tumwine yesterday described their   recognition by ICRU as a resounding achievement  since their  faith has suffered prejudices due to increasing cases of individuals who masquerade    as pastors.

“We express special thanks to the council of Presidents for deeming us worthy to become a member of the council. We are now a legitimate and officially recognised institutionalized faith body,” Tumwine told journalists at a  press conference in Kampala yesterday

Pastor Sserwadda said getting IRCU’s  acceptance gives them more credence and no one will be allowed to tag the title  “pastor” or start a church without BAF’s  clearance .

“ Many people have been masquerading   as pastors yet they don’t head any church . We are going to sieve them and genuine pastors will be getting a church permit from us,” he said

But Internal Affairs Ministry acting publicist Benjamin Katana said despite the Born Again being recognised as a faith the country, the law still empowers the board to regulate their operations.

“They (Born Again) can do their registration under their umbrella ,but it  is not tenable because they are not a government institution .What I know the  board will have to create a different mechanism in future  of registering churches not as  NGOs ,” he said by telephone

Born Again faith is one of the fastest growing branches of Christianity in the Uganda attracting mostly the youth and women and has overtaken some of the old faiths in numbers . BAF currently boasts of about 5000 registered churches across the country .In February ,2006, while attending a born again conference at Mandela Stadium Namboole ,President Museveni directed that Balokole be recognized like other faiths and their churches  cease to be registered as charities .

Islam was the first foreign religion to get acceptance in Uganda having been brought by an Arab trader Ahmed Bin Ibrahim in 1844,followed by Anglican missionaries  in 1877 and two years later ,French Catholic Fathers arrived .

NCHE orders Kayiwa varsity to close academic programmes ,Varsity has no license to admit students

NCHE orders Kayiwa varsity to close academic programmes

Varsity has no license to admit students

KAMPALA.National Council for Higher Education has ordered Kayiwa International University to suspend all its academic programmes until the council evaluates its capacity to handle such programmes .

According to NCHE executive Director, Prof.John Opuda , the  university  has not yet been cleared to offer academic courses and the land on which it is situated is still under dispute.

“In fact what they are doing is in total violation of the law that governs higher institutions of learning. We are sending another team there because they have failed what we expected them to do ,” he said in an interview  last Friday

Prof.Opuda said Kayiwa International University’s current status(Letter of Interim Authority) only allows it to establish structures. An Interim Letter of Authority is issued to an applicant who, in the opinion of the Council, has a good project proposal for the establishment of a university. The project developer is required to develop the project further and mobilise resources, but is not allowed to admit students. The Letter of Interim Authority is valid for three years. When the institution complies well, it is then issued with a provisional license and later a Charter .But after getting a provisional license, a university can start admitting students and issues degrees, diplomas and certificates.

But Pastor Simeon Kayiwa, the university  proprietor described  Prof.Opuda’ s  claims as baseless ,insisting that there no academic programmes  conducted at his premises .However ,he admitted that there  are some  students particularly from the nearby Ndejje University Kampala campus who occasionally go there purposely to revise their books.

“ Ever since I started that institution , we have never conducted any lectures .What happens  is that some students from Ndejje University city campus some times  during their exams come to  our campus and may be these are the ones they mistaken to be ours ( students),”  he said by telephone yesterday

On the land that house the institution, Kayiwa said the land is not encumbered   and has since granted the university project a 49-year lease to allow it expand.

“This land is my personal property and has no controversy whosoever. I gave part of it (2.5acres) to the university and the evidence is there for  whoever has doubts on what I am saying  .” he added.

He said ever  since he  attained an Interim Letter of Authority in 2010, he has been putting in place what is required to acquire a license from NCHE.

“Last week, even a team from NCHE was here and we showed them everything. I can now  firmly say that we  have all what it takes to handle all the courses we applied for and only waiting for NCHE’s clearance which seems to have delayed,” Kayiwa said

Kayiwa has since 2010 been battling with NCHE which accuses him of operating an illegal institution.

Two years ago, Kayiwa told this newspaper during an interview   that the students who were studying at his university then belonged to foreign universities, which are dually registered in the US ,but he declined to name the institutions. 

In 2010, about 100 Ugandan and 200 foreign students graduated from the university based at Kayiwa’s Namirembe Christian Church  but their academic qualifications   were questioned by NCHE, saying the institution is neither registered nor accredited. But Kayiwa defended this, saying the academic qualifications were awarded from the US, but since he enjoyed a good working relationship with the institutions there, they agreed that the students  receive their papers from Uganda.

According to section 118(1) of the university and other Tertiary institutions Act, no person shall establish or operate as university or tertiary institution without the relevant provisional license, charter or certificate granted by NCHE.

For a university to get a provisional licence ,it must have at least more than 10 percent of staff with PhD, 40 percent with masters degrees, enough infrastructure and land (at least one square metre per four students in class and three acres of land for urban universities and at least 10 acres for rural universities), science and computer labs (with at least one computer for every 30 students)

Education Ministry accepts teachers’ appeals

February ,8,2014

Education Ministry accepts teachers’ appeals

KAMPALA.The Ministry of Education has accepted appeals by at least 58 head teachers and deputy head teachers who were dissatisfied with the recent transfers. Some teachers had applied to be moved to other schools but were not considered in the December transfers schedule.

Others were transferred to schools where they did not want to go. The Church and Muslim leaders had earlier complained that they were never consulted as the founding bodies of some schools when the initial transfers were made.

Mr Francis Agula, the Commissioner for Secondary Education, said on Thursday that they had resolved the teachers’ grievances and all of them must report to their respective stations not later than this week to avoid lapses in supervision at the schools. “When their (teachers) issues were brought to our attention, we looked at them and took a decision for the purposes of continuity,” Mr Agula said.

He said some teachers were single at the time of deployment but have since married and need to be in schools not far from their families. Out of the 58 transferred teachers, 23 are deputies. Some of the prominent teachers transferred include: Ms Immaculate Aneso, a deputy head teacher at Mt St Mary’s Namagunga who has been posted to PMM Girls School in Jinja as head teacher, while Mr Tom Otim of St Joseph’s College, Layibi, has moved to Atapara SS in Oyam District.

Brother Anthony Lubwama, who has been deputy head teacher at St Mary’s College Kisubi, is now the acting head teacher after the Church rejected Mr Deodata Mukisa from St Edward‘s SS -Bukumi who the ministry had posted there. 
Brother Lubwama replaces Brother Edward Bukenya who has been at the helm of SMACK for 15 years.

Last month, the ministry announced transfer of 1370 secondary school teachers, including head teachers and deputy head teachers in a shake-up that officials said is intended to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in schools. Of the 1370 teachers, 108 were head teachers and 26 deputies. 

Work to improve our image –Mitala tells permanent secretaries

Work to  improve our image –Mitala tells Permanent secretaries

KALANGALA .The Head of Public Service Mr John Mitala has said his department has continued to get bad publicity and endless political criticism yet a lot has been done to deem the image of the institution.

Speaking at the opening of   a three-day-retreat of permanent secretaries at Ssese Islands Beach Hotel in Kalangala District last Thursday, Mr Mitala said government has undertaken a number of
reforms such as adopting ICT, establishment of systems such as Integrated Financial management System, decentralised payroll system, but due to negative public, they are still viewed as a corruption infested institution. 

“In such situation, everyone feels free to offer helpful and sometimes not-so-helpful advice about how to manage the public service. Each is an instant expert without the necessary background knowledge,” he said

The retreat was under the theme: “Creating the urgency for transformative leadership.”
He said the image of Public Service has partly failed to improve because some individuals join it with a sole aim of amassing quick wealth  by whatever means possible. He challenged the permanent secretaries to take up the challenge and work towards changing the institution’s image.

“The attitude of those being recruited into the public service is that there is quick money not knowing that on the whole, public service is not a place where that quick money is made.” He said

All permanent secretaries who included; Keith Muhakanizi (Secretary to
the treasury) James Mugume (Foreign Affairs) Kabagambe Kaliisa (Energy) Steven Kagoda (Internal Affairs) Rose Nassali (Education
Ministry) among others concurred with Mr Mitala ,saying  despite the steps taken by government to address the question of delays in salary payments, nothing has been done to improve many civil servants’ pay to boost their morale at work.

“A lot needs to be done about the pay of public servants if we are to continue attracting and retaining the best,” Mitala said.

He also said that there is need to harmonize  the salaries of civil servants and to remove the big disparities between the salary scales in the different government departments. “There is no justification why a driver in one government department earns much more than  a driver in another government department yet they are all drivers.” Mr Mitala added
He also emphasised the need for regular training opportunities for civil servants to avoid potential knowledge gaps.

Public service is one of the government departments that have in the last two years been shrouded in corruption scandals   after several staff were implicated in embezzling over than Shs300b meant for pensioners .According to Police investigations, the staff had reportedly created a racket which swindled the money using ‘ghosts’ (non-existent) claimants and bank accounts .Implicated staff are still on trial for alleged disappearance of the pension funds .

Teachers to serve five years in one school as govt moves to implement new policy

Teachers to serve   five years in one school

as govt moves to implement new policy

KAMPALA. The Ministry of Education has announced a new policy shift bars all teachers from serving in one school for more than five years.

According to the new policy, already communicated to the district chief accountant officers and education officers, any teacher who has been at one school for 10 years is  considered to have over stayed.

“In order to rationalise management of teachers deployment,…it is therefore directed that all serving teachers ,deputy head teachers and head teachers should have their placement posting reviewed every five years,” a circular issued by Education Permanent Secretary Rose Nassali reads in part .

Government usually transfer teachers to other schools but some decline to relocate where they are posted because the founding bodies like the Church and Uganda Muslim Education Association still want them to there.

To observe quality teaching and learning, Ms Nassali said appointments of school heads’ are also  going to be re-validated and re-designated starting this month, using a criteria yet to be announced by the education service commission.

According to the PS , the re-validation exercise is aimed  at ascertaining the current bulk of head teachers and their deputies who possess proper qualifications and their current performance levels .

“All head teachers and deputy head teachers of both primary and secondary schools are expected to be lead teachers ,” says a circular dated October 15.

“Head teachers of secondary schools are required to have a teaching load of six periods per week while their deputies teach a minimum of 12 periods per week,” Nassali adds in her circular .

On the other hand, all secondary school teachers are supposed to have a minimum teaching load of 24 periods irrespective of whether they are teaching in O’Level or A’Level. Ms Nassali said teachers without   minimum teaching loads will definitely be transferred to other schools. She said starting this December ,transfer of secondary school teachers and non teaching staff  shall only be effected after confirmation from the districts that there is enough funds to cater for their salaries .

Recently, the director basic  and secondary education Yusuf Nsubuga said by knowing the number of years a  teacher  has served and  qualification ,the ministry will be able to know those who have furthered their education and qualify for promotions.

Government has since 2010 been planning to introduce the teachers  scheme of service to enable classroom teachers who have served for long  and acquired higher qualification get promotions but the scheme has always been delayed due to limited resources .

Teachers who have invested in upgrading have always complained that their salaries are pegged to the levels at which they teach and not their qualifications.

This comes after government raised teachers pay with the least paid primary teacher now bagging Shs279,145 per month , up from the old salary of Shs227,240.  All Head teachers in Primary schools are now paid under the salary scale U4 lower (Shs799,323) ,but the entry point is Shs 611,984 ,while their deputies are under the scale U5 upper, earning Shs608,822.

Secondary   school head teachers are under U1E (Shs 1,690,688) and the entry point is  1, 624,934 while their deputies get Shs 1,291,880.

Giving uniform salary to teachers  was effected recently following the abolition of the school grading system where head teachers in 1^st grade schools like those in urban centres were earning higher pay than their counterparties in lower grade schools which are  mostly located  in villages .

Currently, Uganda has only 160,000 teachers on the government payroll of which 135,000 are in primary schools.

Lack of career advancement opportunities has been one of the major complaints among Ugandan teachers for several decades. The scheme of service was drafted in 2005 by the Education Service Commission but it currently being implemented only in primary schools. If it is fully implemented, even promotions in secondary schools   will depend on the number of years one has worked as well as their academic qualifications. 

At the secondary level, seniority will push one to the rank of Senior Education Assistant (SEA), and later to Principle Education Assistant (PEA). 

Grade Five teachers would be designated as Assistant Education Officers (AEO) while graduate teachers will be   Education Officers (EO), earning the same salary as a primary head teacher.  

Experience and a Master’s degree will push one to the rank of Senior Education Officer (SEO), then Principal Education Officer (PEO), putting one at the same salary scale as a deputy or head teacher. 

UACE exams kickoff with no major hitches

UACE exams kickoff with no major hitches

KAMPALA. The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education examinations, which began yesterday, got off to a flying start across the country. 

By press, no school had reported any ugly incidents as all the candidates arrived in their respective schools on time.
However, there was a slight delay of between 10 to 20 minutes in the distribution of examination materials in some schools in Kampala, which was partly attributed to the menacing traffic jams in the city .

Mr Boniface Sserunkuma, a chief invigilator at St Peters SS, Nsambya, said absence of a female on the invigilating team delayed the start of the first paper as they couldn’t check female candidates.

“The slight delay was caused by a combination of unforeseen problems like not having a woman on our team –something that forced us to look for one who was not a supervisor to help us check the female candidates,” he said

In Mbale district, at least five candidates missed the first exams after they were reported to be sick.

 Mr Bernard Nakisa, the chief invigilator at Mbale SS said the candidates’ students did not show up for examinations because they were reportedly very ill.

“The reports from school indicate that the students are ill and  that is why they have not shown up but they were registered to sit for the examinations, “said Mr Nakisa.

Uganda Examinations Board executive secretary Matthew Bukenya said no cases of malpractices were reported on Day one.

“ Even in Ntoroko District where we expected floods to disturb our people ,the situation has been okay at the two examination centres we  have ,” he said

He allayed fears of invigilators and supervisors about their delayed allowances, saying the process has been finalized and all be paid by Friday .

At Nkoma SS, the Chief Invigilator, Mr William Okotel said the examinations started well without any anomalies and students reported in time and none of them absconded.

In Jinja ,a  power outage at  Lords Meade Vocational College interfered  candidates who  where doing their  Biology Practical  Paper  ,forcing management  to use a generate to sufficient light in the laboratory .

Reports across the districts of Mbale, Sironko, Manafwa, Bududa, Bulambuli, Tororo, Bukedea, Soroti, Kumi and Soroti revealed there were no major disruptions.

Early last month the Ministry of Education in a circular warned all school heads not to refuse candidates from siting exams on account of nonpayment of school fees provided they registered for the examinations .

A total of 108,359 candidates are sitting for the exams at 1,803 centres, down from 115,780 who sat the exams last year.

Candidates are today (Tuesday) writing their History Paper One, Two, Three   and Mathematics paper One and Two.

39 percent of schools in Kla, Wakiso operate illegally –Survey

39 percent of schools in Kla, Wakiso operate illegally  –Survey

KAMPALA. A new school survey in Kampala and Wakiso districts by Agile Learning Company (ALC) has revealed that total of 1567 schools; representing 39 percent of the existing schools are not captured in the Ministry of Education database.

This implies that such schools are operating illegally.

The ministry of education commissioned the ALC, a pre- eminent  provider of ICT solutions  to carry out the survey in July as part of the a pilot project to map all schools using global positioning system (GPS) technology embedded in smart phones. The project is being by the ministry to address the phenomenon of ghost schools, pupils and teachers.

According to the survey, out of the 1567 schools, 1,246 are in Wakiso(56 percent) while 321 in Kampala.

“ In Wakiso District ,results indicate that a total of 1,246(i.e 712 pre-primary ,439 primary and 95 secondary schools are operational but not yet captured in the EMIS database. Out of the 439 schools, 17 are government aided ,” the 71-page report reads in part.

Enumerators from ALC had anticipated to find 2,753  schools as captured in the existing Ministry of Education Information Management System database 2013 ,but were shocked to find an additional 1694 schools ,bringing the total number of educational institutions in both areas  to 4330 . Paradoxically, out of the official schools (2753) ,a total of 92 schools ,69 of which in Kampala, were not found on the ground .

“The exercise failed to obtain information from the district and local officials as to whether these schools were once in existence, closed or relocated.” adds the report

Of these (4330)  ,127 private schools refused to be mapped  administrators  were not available to provide the requisite data while others were closed.

The school mapping exercise also discovered inconstancies in the naming of schools, with some school names slightly different from those they submitted to government. Another 118 schools had changed their administrative locations –making it hard to be traced.

Mr Arnold Dhatumwa , the commissioner Education Planning and Policy Analysis said the problem has been exacerbated   by mushrooming private schools that want to operate  before fulfilling the necessary procedures  set by government .He said by revealing the survey findings, the ministry had done her part and it is now the local authorities in Kampala and Wakiso to play their part.

“Most of these  are private schools .They are really hostile, they don’t want to be monitored because they know they are giving a raw deal to the public,” he said ,adding “The onus is now on the authorities in Kampala and Wakiso to crack the whip and address this problem internally,” he said

Currently, there are at least 20,000 private schools across the country. Despite charging high fees, most parents prefer taking their children to private schools ostensibly because they offer high quality services as compared to government-aided schools.

Mr Asadu Kirabira, the in charge of Research at National Private Education Institutions Association blamed the existence of illegal schools on the bureaucracy involved in licensing and registration of private schools.

“No one wants to operate illegally but they are just forced by the prevailing circumstances, “he said by telephone yesterday

“One can apply for a license and takes a year or two to get it .What do you expect that person to do?” he asked

On schools that shunned the mapping exercise, Kirabira said government failed to involve them in the exercise yet they have a complete register of all private schools in the country and their locations.

In 2011,the Auditor General’s office unearthed about 500 non-existent schools which were being planted in the Ministry of Education’s data base and were receiving money ,causing losses to government .In Amuru District alone, it was discovered that  government was losing  at least Shs71.4million per term to 15,539 ghost UPE pupils .

Top Muslim youth leaders stripped of powers to run William street mosque

Top Muslim youth leaders stripped of powers to run

 William street mosque

KAMPALA .The leader of the Muslim Tabliq sect, Sheikh Yunus Kamoga has urged Muslims to remain united despite internal bickering that threatens to tear the top youth leadership apart.

Speaking after Juma prayers at Nakasero Mosque last Friday, Sheik Kamoga said all possible avenues are being explored to keep his leadership together.

“Despite our internal differences, we have we remain brothers and sisters and nothing should tear us apart,” he said  

Kamoga’s call came a day after four members of his executive were stripped of the powers to run William Street Mosque. These include; Sheik Swidiq Ndaula, Sheik Mustapha Bahiga, Hajj Najib Ssonko and Sheik Hassan Kirya .

The decision followed complaints from worshippers that the officials had dominated the affairs of the mosque for years yet they also sit on the national executive committee.

“A mosque is supposed to have its own management committee ,but surprisingly all the affairs have been run by members of the top executive committee .So ,this is unfair and we cannot move like that,” said Hajj Umar Ausi Kamoga ,the publicity secretary on the new mosque committee .

The worshippers also accuse their leaders of serving for nine years without their mandate and failing to give proper accountabilities of the money collected from the mosque.

Others elected on the mosque  committee include, Hajj Haruna Saazi Mabira ,chairperson ,Salim Kasujja(Secretary) ,Hajj Abdulhamid Kiganila ( Treasurer),  Abdul Hamid Salim and Hamiis Matovu( both in charge of Defence ) and Sheik Hassan Nyanzi and Yonus Kabenge( Imams)

But Sheik Kirya, who also doubles as the spokesperson of the Kibuli-based Muslim administration said the new team was illegally installed and insisting that the old management is the one supposed to run the mosque.

“ We know what transpired and in the spirit of  living in harmony, we   never wanted to cause unnecessary tension but our top management  is sitting on Monday(today) to resolve that matter,” he said by telephone on Saturday

The mosque, located on Plot 30 William Street  has been under contention since 2005 .The Muslim youths seized control of it the same year following reports that the administration of Mufti Shaban Mubajje at Old Kampala had sold it to city businessman  Hassan Basajjabalaba through   his firm, Haks Express Ltd who later sold it to another businessman Mr Drake  Lubega at $2milion .It houses at least 50 shops and a mosque.

Despite Muslims occupying it and collecting dues from shops, Lubaga still insists that it belongs to him and the property legally belongs to him and possesses   the title deed. There are unconfirmed reports that government has since compensated Lubega to enable the property  revert to the Muslims.

The Muslim Community has suffered a series of leadership wrangles since the 1960s with one faction fighting to produce the supreme leader .There have been several attempt by successive governments to unit them in vain.

When Idi Amin seized power in 1971, he compelled all the groups to merge under Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. He also took over responsibility of naming the Mufti which caused some unity but after his government collapsed, they split again . 

Unity was again achieved in 2000 when the groups came under Mubajje ,but his administration is also suffered the same   with a section of Muslims accusing him of  selling community land , and this  led to breakaway faction led by Sheikh Zubair Kayongo.

Private schools caught inflate enrollment numbers to defraud govt-Report

Private schools caught  inflate enrollment numbers to defraud govt-Report

KAMPALA. President Museveni’s proposal to scrap free education in partnering private schools is likely to get credence following evidence that some schools inflate enrollment figures to ostensibly defraud government of capitation money.

According to a spot check validation exercise done in selected schools by the Ministry of Education last Month, it was discovered that some school administrators simply mobilise youth in their vicinities to masquerade as students during head count, yet they are not registered students at the schools. The validation report faults school heads of failure to transparently maintain both admission records and daily attendance registers .

“There is a deliberate and fraudulent falsification of data in all schools visited, but the situation is worse in PPP schools with Sisiya High School emerging as the worst case scenario of all the schools sampled during this validation exercise,” a 29-page validation report reads in part.

In one of the sampled schools- Sisiyi High School in Bulambuli District, students confirmed that enrollment for the first and second term had never reached 100 yet authorities claim there were 482 students. Suppose the falsification of data has been ongoing for 3 years, it means government has lost Shs162.4m in only one school.

When the team entered classrooms, the report says they found that most desks were empty and school administrator claimed students had been sent home to collect feeding fees. “ So ,the team decided to request each student to name at least three full names of students they thought were absent and none of them could give an answer ….there was indeed no document to confirm officially that students had been sent away to collect fees,”

The report says, many private schools don’t want to submit any information regarding their operations and a few that comply do so after seeking clearance from their directors. It cites Sironko Parents where the head teacher had to first call the proprietor of the school who happen to be an MP.

The report comes months after Mr Museveni directed the Ministry of Education to scrap private schools from implementing free education ,insisting that government was simply ‘donating’ free money to school proprietors .Mr Museveni said the Shs53b spent on private schools annually can be used to construct 88 government schools annually in the 243 sub-counties.

The report also reveals that most private schools do not meet minimum criteria for participation in the implementing USE programme because they lack institutionalised governance and management structures.

“There is no transparency and accountability in the management of USE resources. Instead, the management of these schools appears to be revolving around the proprietors who are firmly micro managing these schools.” adds the report

According to the report, some local leaders admitted knowing what is going on in the schools, but failed to take corrective action for fear of reprisals from some proprietors who are said to be politically well connected.

The validation exercise was conducted in sample schools in Mbale, Bulambuli , and Sironko districts .Five schools were sampled in the three districts . A similar exercise has been done in Namayingo , Kampala,Wakiso  ,Kibale districts .This followed three data collection exercises across the country with all providing varying figures on both enrollment and attendance of students –something that puzzled government when disbursing capitation money for Second Term .For example, at St. Joseph BuyagaSS –Sironko, the school census showed that it has a population of 1,417 students ,but the head count and ministry of finance surveys revealed 1,027 and 800 students respectively .Nkooma Muslim SS, had no students during the annual school census, but the head count and ministry of finance reports  put enrollment at 2,859 and 343 respectively .  

All the schools sampled, none had accounted for the capitation money disbursed to them as required .For instance, Sisiyi High School has never accounted for government funds since 2008 while Sironko Parents has not done the same for the last three years.

- Mr Joseph Eilor, the assistant commissioner Education Planning and Policy Analysis said: “The president was spot on and such revelation is going to change the way we do our data collection and avoid relying on only source,”

In fact, whoever doubts our findings should ask investigating arms of government to investigate and I am sure they will certainly get shocked.”

Mr Ezra Mwambu , the proprietor  Sisiyi High School said: “Being a politician, I have opponents and it is those opponents who gave the ministry wrong information .The people they interviewed have never said anything good about the school and as a director ,I wasn’t interviewed ,”

-Each student in a private school implementing the scheme gets Shs47,000 per term while one in a government-aided school and BTVET institution  receives Shs41,000  and Shs 150,000 respectively on top of meeting all the operational expenses of the school. Parents, though, have to provide the students’ uniform, stationery and meals but very few meet their obligation.

-Currently, a total of 863 private secondary schools are in partnership with government out of 1,785 schools implementing the free education in the country.
Of the 806,992 beneficiaries under the Universal Secondary Education programme, a total of 300,000 are estimated to be in private schools.

Recommendations:

- A spot check validation exercise should be adopted as an efficiency strategy for ensuring that resources disbursed under capitation grants not abused through deliberate manipulation of date

-Sisiyi High School be urgently investigated on deliberate and fraudulent falsification of data to obtain capitation grants

-Beginning 2015/16, all PPP schools should be required to sign an MoU with Education ministry afresh.

-

NCHE has no powers to order varsity to cancel degree-Court rules in Joho's controversial case

PRESS RELEASE

“Ugandan Judge quashes decision of the National Council Of Higher Education in Joho‘s degree case”

The Ugandan High Court has today, the 20^th of October, 2014 in Miscellaneous Cause No. 53 of 2014: Kampala University=Vs= National Council For Higher Education declared the decision of the National Council of Higher Education of Uganda of 30^th April, 2014 that purported not to recognize the degree of Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho as a nullity. The degree was awarded by Kampala University, Uganda. Justice Stephen Musota sitting in Kampala while delivering the Judgment criticized the National Council of Higher Education for giving in to external pressures in arriving at its decision.

The learned Judge held that the National Council of Higher Education had no jurisdiction to recall or not to recognize whether directly or indirectly individual degrees awarded by any University in Uganda. The Judge held that the power to do is vested in a University Senate under the provisions of the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001.

According to Dennis Mosota Joho’s Nairobi lawyer the judgment has far reaching effects beyond their case.

“To us, beyond vindicating Hon. Joho’s degree, this is a very profound and far reaching decision as far as the regulatory powers of the National Council for Higher Education are concerned. The Judgment affirms the academic independence of individual institutions of higher learning as well as bolsters the independence of University organs such as the University Senate as well as the University Council”.

The Judge took issue in the manner in which the National Council of Higher Education conducted the proceedings. He condemned the practice of public officials sitting behind their desks and trampling on the guaranteed rights of private citizens without giving them a right to be heard.

Early in the year on 30th of April, 2014 at a Special Council Meeting the National Council of Higher Education passed a resolution to the effect that “There was no clear evidence that academic due process was followed from admission to graduation regarding a Bachelor of Business Administration Decree (Human Resource Management Option) awarded to MR. HASSAN ALI JOHO by Kampala University. And therefore, the Council resolved that it did not recognize the Bachelor of Business Administration degree awarded to MR. HASSAN ALI JOHO by Kampala University on 28^th February 2013”.

In today’s land mark judgment, the Judge having found that the decision of the National Council for Higher Education was reached ultravires; in contempt of a Court Order and without giving any of the affected parties an opportunity of being heard, contrary to the rules of Natural Justice, made the following orders:

a.      An order of certiorari quashing the decision of the Council reached on 30^th April, 2014.

b.      order of prohibition prohibiting the Respondent from using, disseminating and/or in any other manner whatsoever, using the decision contained in the resolution of 30^th April, 2014 in any manner inimical to the interests of the Applicant in respect of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration awarded to Hassan Ali Joho, as expressed in the resolution aforesaid or any other manner thereto ejusdem generis.

c.       An order of permanent injunction issues restraining the Respondent from interfering in any way with the Applicant’s grant of the subject degree to HASSAN ALI JOHO

d.      The Judge also awarded costs of the Application to be borne by the National Council for Higher Education

Ends

GPS

Mombasa County

For Further information please contact:

Ms. Esther Ingolo

Director Governor’s Press Service

Email: e.ingolo@gmail.com

Opposition struggles to reconcile Lukwago with Kidandala

Opposition struggles  to reconcile

Lukwago with Kidandala

KAMPALA.The opposition members last week convened a closed -door meeting where they discuss means of how they can reunite embattled Kampala Lord Mayor with his deputy Sulaiman Kidandala.

Mr Erias Lukwago fallen out with Mr Kidandala last month, with the latter accused of plotting to oust the former from City Hall, home of the Kampala Capital City Authority.

The meeting took place at Katonga road at the offices of the   For God and my Country (4GC) pressure group, last Wednesday and the former Forum for Democratic Change Dr Kizza Besigye reportedly chaired the meeting.

It was reportedly attended by Dr Besigye, Ibrahim Ssemujju, Ingrid Turinawe, Mr Asuman Basalirwa; Moses  Kasibante, Democratic Party spokesperson Mr Kenneth Kakande, Kawempe Division Mayor Mubarak Munyagwa and Kampala Disctrict DP chairperson  Vincent Mayanja.

Although the meeting’s main agenda, according to officials, was to find mechanisms to reconcile Lukwago and Kidandala, members also reportedly listened to recordings of the Kayihura tapes.

It is alleged that some members after listening to the one and half hour recordings, they disagreed on what action to take against Kidandala.

“Some members suggested that the opposition summon Kidandala to a meeting which will be attended by Mr Lukwago,” the source said. “However, others suggested that they launch a smear campaign against Kidandala, but Ssemujju and Basalirwa contested this proposal arguing that the opposition would look like targeting an individual and could split the unconsolidated opposition even more.,” the source said.

Mr Ssemujju , who attended the meeting said a number of issues were discussed in the meeting.

“We discussed a number of issues including a discussion on Kidandala, but we never discussed anything to do with a smear campaign against him, it not true,” Mr Ssemujju said in a telephone interview.

Dr Besigye yesterday was not available for a comment, however, he told Daily Monitor’s Erias Mukiibi on Saturday night that the meeting took place, but could not discuss details of the meeting as he was a central player in the discussion.

When asked about the meeting, Mr Lukwago said he did not attend it, however, recently at press briefing where he sacked Kidandala, Lukwago said he would give him a second chance to reform.

Kidandala said he had heard some rumours about the meeting, but refused to comment on what he heard, despite that he earlier in an interview with newspaper, said he had no interest in taking up the Lord Mayor’s seat.

Mr Basalirwa said details of the meetings will be communicated at a press conference slatted for tomorrow ( Wednesday).

Background

There have been some reports that Kidandala was likely to be installed as Lord Mayor at a meeting convened by KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi in Entebbe, but this never came to pass . Similar allegations have been made that Kidandala was set to chair the forum of Mayors who converged recently in Kampala.

Chances get slim for Uganda to attain MDG 4, 5 targets-Repor

Chances get  slim for Uganda to attain MDG 4, 5 targets-Report

KAMPALA. Although Uganda has registered  remarkable progress in  improving both child and maternal health care, there is still an uphill task of addressing neonatal mortality rate in the next four months if the country is to fully achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5,a new survey  has shown .

Neonatal mortality rate is the number of babies dying before reaching 28 days of age; per 1,000 live births in a given year. For the case of Uganda, neonatal mortality rate currently stands at 27 per 1,000 live births and government had earlier projected to reduce it to 23 per 1,000 live births by 2015.

“Available evidence suggests that Uganda has witnessed accelerated progress towards the attainment of the under-five mortality target between 2006 and 2011 and could achieve the 2015 target of 56/1,000 live births. However, this will depend heavily on a drastic fall in neonatal mortality rate in the remaining period,” the 68-page report reads in part.

According to the 2012/13 State of Uganda Children report , the country’s  maternal mortality ratio which was expected to  drastically fall to 131/100,00 as the 2015 deadline comes closer ,has  stagnated  at 438/100,000 live births.
Since 2006, the maternal mortality rate in Uganda has stagnated at 438 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The report, which was compiled by the National Council for Children was launched in Kampala yesterday .It assesses the progress Uganda has made in realizing the two MDGs on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health and provides recommendations to fast-track progress .

State minister in charge of Primary Health Care, Sarah Opendi, who launched the report, said the challenge facing Uganda was not only to maintain the down ward trend in overall child mortality, but also to adopt a strong geographical and population focus to health care provision.

“The challenge before us is to ensure that we make a strategic shift and put  emphasis on those geographical areas like Karamoja, northern Uganda which have the highest mortality and populations groups carrying the largest disease burden” she said

She said, although government had scaled up immunisation of children (96 percent) and reduced the number of children being born with HIV   from 25,000 to 8,000, a bigger challenge is still with the high number of existing malnourished children.

The eight Millennium Development Goals which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, increasing access to universal primary education and developing a global partnership for development by 2015 are a blue print agreed to by world leaders in 2000.

However, many African countries are lagging behind on achieving MDGs barely four months to the 2015 deadline   and for the case of Uganda it has only succeeded in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and achieving debt sustainability and it is quite clear that it may not achieve other goals in just a few months. 

Chances get  slim for Uganda to attain MDG 4, 5 targets-Report

KAMPALA. Although Uganda has registered  remarkable progress in  improving both child and maternal health care, there is still an uphill task of addressing neonatal mortality rate in the next four months if the country is to fully achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5,a new survey  has shown .

Neonatal mortality rate is the number of babies dying before reaching 28 days of age; per 1,000 live births in a given year. For the case of Uganda, neonatal mortality rate currently stands at 27 per 1,000 live births and government had earlier projected to reduce it to 23 per 1,000 live births by 2015.

“Available evidence suggests that Uganda has witnessed accelerated progress towards the attainment of the under-five mortality target between 2006 and 2011 and could achieve the 2015 target of 56/1,000 live births. However, this will depend heavily on a drastic fall in neonatal mortality rate in the remaining period,” the 68-page report reads in part.

According to the 2012/13 State of Uganda Children report , the country’s  maternal mortality ratio which was expected to  drastically fall to 131/100,00 as the 2015 deadline comes closer ,has  stagnated  at 438/100,000 live births.
Since 2006, the maternal mortality rate in Uganda has stagnated at 438 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The report, which was compiled by the National Council for Children was launched in Kampala yesterday .It assesses the progress Uganda has made in realizing the two MDGs on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health and provides recommendations to fast-track progress .

State minister in charge of Primary Health Care, Sarah Opendi, who launched the report, said the challenge facing Uganda was not only to maintain the down ward trend in overall child mortality, but also to adopt a strong geographical and population focus to health care provision.

“The challenge before us is to ensure that we make a strategic shift and put  emphasis on those geographical areas like Karamoja, northern Uganda which have the highest mortality and populations groups carrying the largest disease burden” she said

She said, although government had scaled up immunisation of children (96 percent) and reduced the number of children being born with HIV   from 25,000 to 8,000, a bigger challenge is still with the high number of existing malnourished children.

The eight Millennium Development Goals which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, increasing access to universal primary education and developing a global partnership for development by 2015 are a blue print agreed to by world leaders in 2000.

However, many African countries are lagging behind on achieving MDGs barely four months to the 2015 deadline   and for the case of Uganda it has only succeeded in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and achieving debt sustainability and it is quite clear that it may not achieve other goals in just a few months. 

Kasubi tombs caretaker complains over delay to complete construction works

Kasubi tombs caretaker complains over delay to complete construction works

HERBERT ZZIWA

AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

KAMPALA.The caretaker of the Kasubi Royal Tombs has expressed concern over the slow pace on the reconstruction of the burnt heritage site, saying the project has taken longer than anticipated .

Speaking during the inspection of construction works by Buganda Kingdom Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga Tuesday ,Ms Nnalinya Beatrice Namika Mpologoma said ,the delays had caused a lot of anxiety among Baganda who expected work to be completed in the shortest time possible.

“ The period given to the contractor to do the work elapsed ,but work is still moving at a snail pace. All materials required are already on site but we wonder why there are such delays ,” she said

The 132-year-old royal tombs, which house remains of four fallen Buganda kings, went up in flames on March 16 ,2010 and the kingdom has since been mobilizing funds to put up a new structure .At least Shs3billion was raised from Baganda and other well-wishers to reconstruct the site while government and foreign donors also contributed Shs5billion. The kingdom is yet to give a detailed breakdown of the money that will be spent on the entire tombs reconstruction project.

Efforts to speak to officials from Omenga Construction Ltd,which is the main contractor of the project was futile .But the chairperson Kasubi Tombs Reconstruction Committee Hajj Kaddu Kiberu said the delays have been caused by the desire to erect a structure that matches international standards.

“It is not a matter of rushing through to finish ,but to come up with something that is of international standard and can stand the test of time. We want to avoid the past mistakes .Some times our engineers are forced to pull down some sections of the wall and rebuild it to ensure quality ,” he said

Omega reportedly subcontracted the last phase of the project to Wabulaakayole(a traditional thatcher).

The Wabulaakayole will supervise the 52 Baganda clans that will roof the structure. Each clan makes a ring traditionally known as ebizizi.

Mayiga said the delay to complete Kasubi hinders the redevelopment of other tombs like Muganzirwaaza in Nabweru in Wakiso District which culturally cannot be renovated unless Kasubi is completed.

“Some times I reach here and feel like quarreling with these engineers ,but since they are professionals we are optimistic that their delay is intended to deliver quality work and we shall wait ” he said

In 2010,when Mayiga was still the kingdom information minister he had projected that the construction works were to last at least six months –meaning tombs could have been completed by October the same year. However ,when he assumed the office of Katikkiro in May last year,the outspoken Katikkiro set March 16 this year as deadline to completed the tombs ,a period that passed when only the perimeter wall is finished the deadline was to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the fire that gutted the site .So far ,some section of foundation of main house in the tombs commonly known as Muzibu Azaala Mpanga is completed and by yesterday engineers were fixing metric bars in the sides to support the roof .According to the kingdom plan , Kasubi is expected to be turned into a cultural villages to attract more tourists ,set up a tele-centre and a traditional tourist sanctuary .Surveillance cameras are yet to be fitted on the completed perimeter wall.

8200 students clear to sit Allied Health exams start

8200 students clear to sit Allied Health exams  start

KAMPALA.At least 8200   candidates have been registered to do the Allied Health Examinations which kick off today, the Uganda Allied Health Examination Board announced on Friday.

UAHEB executive secretary Kato Kimoga said during the briefing of invigilators and coordinators in Kampala ,that exams will run up to July 12 and will be conducted at 54 accredited centres.

“The first two weeks will be for practical papers and the remaining period will be for  theory,” he said This will be the five year the board is conducting exams where  successful candidates graduate as clinical officers, laboratory technicians, anaesthetics officers, orthopaedic officers, dental officers, public health officers, physiotherapists and pharmacists.This category forms the bulk of  frontline professionals much needed in most of the health facilities including Health Centre IIIs.

There is an increase of at least 60 candidates compared to last year, and according to Mr Kimoga ,this comprises those re-siting some  papers .

He warned candidates against any kind of exam malpractices noting that a network has been put in place to root out any form of malpractices and get perpetrators prosecuted.

“I appeal to the candidates not to attempt to cheat these exams and whoever is caught will be dealt with accordingly. And even our invigilators are expected to follow the guidelines as outlined and breaching any of them without my clearance will tantamount to cheating,”  Mr Kimoga A total of 150 invigilators and 36 supervisors have been deployed to man the exams .

He also cautioned unlicensed schools against soliciting money from students for examinations, saying the proprietors risk being prosecuted. “Some institutions or centres have a habit of  extorting  money from students claiming that they are accredited by the examinations body. We are tired of such cases and this time, the law will have to take its course,” he said.

Established in 2009, UAHEB is mandated to administer, examine and award qualifications to registered candidates in allied health programmes. The Board is responsible for 21 allied health programmes and administers over 250 examination papers.

Last year, of the 2,913 candidates who sat for the June-July exams, 2,656 passed-representing 91per cent pass rate. A total of 257 (9 per cent) failed failed the papers and were required to re-sit the papers.

 In comparison, few candidates failed the exams last year compared to 525 (17.9 per cent) who did the same exams and failed in 2012 .

In the previous two years, poor performance has always been registered in Public Health Dentistry, Environmental Health Sciences, Medical Radiography and Physiotherapy while an improvement in performance is recorded in Occupational Therapy and Laboratory Technology.

Nakivubo Stadium gets new look

 

Nakivubo Stadium gets new look

KAMPALA. Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium has for decades been known as a sports arena .But with the changing face of its surroundings  , the stadium is slowly but surely becoming a business hub of some sort given the mushrooming shops erected around its perimeter wall. The latest structure to change the face of Nakivubo is the perimeter complex named Ham Shopping Ground  .

This shopping arcade ,which has  200 shops ,has been constructed through a public private partnership between city businessman Hamis Kiggundu of Ham enterprises Limited and the stadium management. The arcade ,which is nearing completion is directly facing the controversial Park Yard Market and some the vendors at the market have already been affected by this development .

Before traders turned it into a market, the yard served as a stadium car parking yard and there have been several attempts to evict  them from the area. Nakivubo War Memorial  Stadium  treasurer says they want the entire place developed –including the part currently  housing the market  to a standard preferred by Kampala Capital City Authority.

“We know development comes with negatives and positives. But traders should appreciate – we only want to have the place developed and organised to match the evolving image of Kampala. It will also be a revenue source for the stadium sustainability,” said Hajjat Minsa Kabanda.

Part of the market has been cleared to create access bridges to the new shops, leaving a number of traders aggrieved.

“It’s an impressive development, but that’s not my concern when I am losing my livelihood source at the cost of development,” responded Mr John Sserunkuma, a trader at Parkyard market when this reporter sought his opinion .

However, Hajjat  Kabanda said all vendors  will move to pave way for an expanded development of the whole parkyard.

“Its good work so far. We are satisfied he [developer] impressively put up a magnificent structure . Currently, we are finding relocation alternatives for all vendors  at park yard market because the market is not gazetted,” she said yesterday.

KCCA had earlier indicated the park yard market was illegal because it was not on plan and assured vendors  that there are no plans to legalise it, but it (KCCA) has consistently denied involvement in threats to evict traders.

“Parkyard is an illegal market over which we exercise no control,” the letter from KCCA  dated February 21, 2012 reads in part.

But early this month, Kampala Resident City Commissioner, Ms Aisha Kabanda told the vendors  in a meeting that they should prepare to relocate if government finds a suitable palace for them.

Opportunities for vendors

According to Hajjat Kabanda, vendors  at the market will be given first priority for stall/shops in the new structures. She said the mall has three floors  with shops going  for Shs1.2m, Shs0.5-0.8m and Shs0.3m. she noted that all stalls at the second floor are specifically for traders who  will be  affected in the eviction exercise. On southern wing of the stadium, a large chunk of the stadium has also been turned into parks for vehicles. During the day almost a hundred cars are parked measures .Near the main entrance ,there is also  a bus terminal which is privately managed .

With all these non sports activities ,it remains to be seen whether the world soccer governing body FIFA will still recognize Nakivubo as a viable facility for international games .

Background Nakivubo Park Yard Market started in mid 1990s and more than 30,000 traders are currently doing businesses there ranging from second hard clothes, shoes , fruits and other perishable food products.

As the name suggests, this open space used to serve as a parking lot for Nakivubo Stadium but when vendors increased in the adjacent St Balikuddembe Market commonly known as Owino, some chose to erect stalls there to ply their businesses .Although city authorities then collected dues from the vendors, they maintained that the place was not among the gazzetted city markets .