Following its closure last year by the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) over failure to meet the minimum standards, Busoga University gates remain closed in a period many Universities are busy admitting freshers for the academic year 2018/19.
Over 2000 students of the Iganga-based campus are stranded as University continues to be out of bounds for students and the police officers are guarding to prevent students from accessing the campus premises following strike threats and fear of destroying the university’s properties.
Joan Kukundakwe, a fourth year student of Bachelor of Laws, continues to worry as no one is coming out to brief her about the next course of action yet she had already paid her tuition. “I have to join Law Development Centre (LDC) but there is no sign of relocating us to other universities. They have denied us our results yet they do not demand us any fees balance. There is no sign that the university will reopen for the August intake.” Says Kukundakwe.
Having been officially taken over by the government, Busoga University students’ fate remains unknown as lecturers continue to hold students’ results because they still demand salary arrears from this struggling University.
According to Mr Patrick Kayemba, the Iganga District chairperson, who also sits on the transitional committee, the university officials are not well organized enough to help students settle down with their studies despite the government’s will to pay off the affected students.
Prof Opuda, the NCHE head, suspended the university’s operational license in December 2017 for its failure to recruit qualified staff, teaching unaccredited courses and graduating students who did not meet the requirements.
As we earlier reported, 400 nursing students of Busoga University were relocated to Lubega School of Nursing in Iganga, Johnas International College of Health Science in Buikwe and Iganga School of Nursing from where they sat their national examinations.