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)