The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) says the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) remains fully accredited, and that teaching and learning should continue, directly contradicting the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU).
The statement comes two days after PSU announced on Monday, October 19, that it had withdrawn its recognition of the programme with immediate effect.
NCHE, the statutory regulator of higher education, made three firm points:
- The BPharm programme at MUST is fully accredited.
- NCHE has not withdrawn that accreditation.
- Teaching and learning on the programme should continue.
NCHE said the programme was first accredited in 2010 and has been re-accredited several times since. The most recent re-accreditation was granted on January 30, 2025, and runs until 2036. According to NCHE, every re-accreditation was granted in consultation with PSU, as the law requires.
Who has the final say?
NCHE said it was neither involved nor consulted in what it called PSU’s “unilateral decision” to withdraw recognition of the programme.
Citing the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, Cap 262, NCHE said it is the body mandated to accredit academic and professional programmes, in consultation with professional bodies such as PSU. It added that it is responsible for recognising academic qualifications and for investigating complaints against higher education institutions.
Withdrawing recognition of the qualifications of a programme’s graduates, NCHE said, is its preserve alone.
PSU, for its part, said it acted under Section 22(2) of the Pharmacy and Drugs Act, Cap 309, which gives it a mandate to safeguard pharmacy training standards.
The head of department question
The two bodies also give different pictures of who has been running MUST’s Department of Pharmacy.
PSU’s notice said the department was headed in an acting capacity by a non-pharmacist, a nurse by profession, and that MUST had not advertised to fill the position substantively. PSU also said MUST did not respond to a show cause notice it issued on September 10.
NCHE gave this account instead:
- An Associate Professor of Pharmacy headed the department until July 2026, when he left for another institution on promotion to full Professor.
- MUST then temporarily appointed a Senior Lecturer with a nursing background who holds a PhD in Pharmacology from Ghent University in Belgium.
- The current Acting Head of Department is a pharmacist who is also the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda.
Caught in the middle
The standoff leaves MUST’s pharmacy students facing two conflicting instructions. NCHE says the programme is accredited and classes should go on. PSU has advised them to either transfer to another recognised university or wait for MUST to comply.
The stakes for students are not only academic. In its notice, PSU said it had suspended issuing Pharmacy Student Numbers to MUST students and would not recognise internship placements or allow new MUST graduates to sit its pre-internship and pre-registration exams until MUST complies. Those steps sit on the path to professional registration as a pharmacist, which is separate from NCHE’s academic accreditation.
NCHE said it remains open to receiving and investigating complaints about higher education institutions. Neither body has said whether the two will meet to resolve the dispute.
CampusBee has contacted PSU, MUST and NCHE for comment on what happens next for students, and will update this story.
MUST pharmacy students, what has the university told you? Tell us. @campusbee.ug
