The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has withdrawn its recognition of the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) programme at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), with immediate effect.
In a public notice dated Monday, October 19, PSU Secretary Dr Stephen Lutoti said the decision was taken at the society’s 61st Emergency Council Meeting at Pharmacy House, Kyambogo, after MUST failed to respond to a show cause notice.
Why PSU acted
According to the notice, PSU’s Council raised “grave concern” at its 127th Ordinary Council Meeting on September 4 over three problems in MUST’s Department of Pharmacy:
- The department was being headed in an acting capacity by a non-pharmacist, a nurse by profession
- It did not have enough staff
- The university had not advertised, internally or externally, to fill the Head of Department position substantively
On September 10, PSU issued a show cause notice (Ref: 300/PSU/2026), giving MUST 30 days to explain why recognition should not be withdrawn and its students transferred. PSU says MUST did not respond within that time.
The programme had been recognised by PSU’s Council through a public notice dated April 16, 2026.
The de-recognition has serious consequences for MUST pharmacy students and graduates:
- PSU will not recognise any qualification for courses taught or assessed while the programme is de-recognised.
- PSU has suspended issuing Pharmacy Student Numbers to MUST students.
- New MUST graduates will not have their internship placements recognised and cannot sit PSU’s pre-internship and pre-registration qualifying exams until MUST complies.
PSU has advised current BPharm students at MUST to either transfer to another university whose programme the PSU Council recognises, or wait for MUST to comply.
If MUST acts on the PSU Council’s inspection findings, which were sent to the Vice Chancellor, and addresses the issues raised in the show cause notice, PSU says it will carry out a follow-up inspection to assess compliance and decide on further action.
PSU said it was acting under Section 22(2) of the Pharmacy and Drugs Act, Cap 309, which gives it a mandate to safeguard pharmacy training standards. The notice was copied to the National Council for Higher Education, the Ministry of Education and Sports, MUST’s Vice Chancellor and the Mbarara University Pharmacy Students Association.
The move comes days after PSU wrote to Kampala International University on October 16, giving it 30 days to prove that the head of its pharmacy school at the Ishaka campus is a registered pharmacist, or risk similar action.
MUST has not yet publicly responded. CampusBee has contacted the university for comment and will update this story.
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