In a plan to recruit Cuban lecturers, Kyambogo University has reportedly rejected ten applicants from Cuba after they failed to meet the set minimum requirements. According to Prof Elly Katunguka, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, they had planned to recruit between 10-15 Cuban Professors but none of the applicants had a PhD.
Kyambogo’s plan to recruit Cuban lecturers came following a Memorandum of Understanding between the university and the Ministry of Higher Education in Cuba where the two agreed that Kyambogo receives Curriculum Vitae (CVs) of interested professors and the successful applicants would receive the same amount as that of Ugandan Professors.
Each of the Cuban professors would earn UGX 7 million per month just like the other local Ugandan professors.
Katunguka adds that in a bid to meet the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) minimum standards, they called upon local PhD holders to apply but didn’t receive much response as they expected, which later pushed them to seek for international expertize.
“One of the areas we looked at was Nigeria and Cuba. So we made a visit to Cuba around February and we came to the conclusion that Cubans were highly trained and competent and we could recruit some especially in areas of science,” Prof. Katunguka said.
Katunguka adds that they have informed the Cuban government to identify more qualified candidates to apply for the available jobs.
According to the standards set by the NCHE, a university should have at least 60% of its staff as PhD holders and having less than 10% is unacceptable. However, Kyambogo University currently has only two full professors and 16 Associate Professors.
The NCHE further guides that each department in the university should have two full professors and two Associate Professors. Currently, Kyambogo University is estimated to have about 40 departments, which means that it requires about 80 professors if the university is to be fully equipped with the human resource necessary for masters and PhD programs.
It should be noted that in November last year, the government threatened to hire Cuban medical experts following the continuous striking by the local doctors.
