Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) has asked the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) to reverse its decision to withdraw recognition of the university’s Bachelor of Pharmacy programme, and has set out the steps it says it has taken to fix the problems PSU raised.
In a letter to PSU’s President dated November 2, the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) responded to PSU’s September 10 show cause notice and its public notices of October 19 and October 27. PSU had earlier said MUST failed to respond to the show cause notice within the 30 days allowed.
The university proposed an urgent physical meeting at MUST between the PSU Council, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the university, including physical verification of staff. It also asked PSU to share its detailed inspection findings and any specific outstanding requirements so each can be addressed.
MUST said it welcomes verification by PSU and NCHE “so as to reconsider and rescind the withdrawal of recognition decision.”
A pharmacist at the helm
PSU’s main complaint was that MUST’s Department of Pharmacy was being run in an acting capacity by a non-pharmacist. MUST says it has now appointed Dr Jonans Tusiimire, a pharmacist recently promoted to Associate Professor and currently Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, as Acting Head of Department for three months from October 19. A substantive head will be chosen through an election under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, which the university expects to complete by December 2026.
“25% full-time academic staffing”
On staffing, the university made a striking admission. Like all public universities in Uganda, it said, MUST is operating at just 25% of its full-time academic staffing level and relies on part-time lecturers to fill the gap. The pharmacy department was given five part-time lecturers this academic year.
MUST says it has secured a budget provision and Ministry of Public Service clearance, granted on October 14, to promote and recruit more full-time pharmacy staff:
- Three staff have already been promoted: Dr Jonans Tusiimire to Associate Professor, and Dr Joshua Kiptoo and Dr Peter Nuwagira to Lecturer.
- Two Senior Lecturer positions are being advertised, with recruitment targeted for completion by December 2026.
The university also said all BPharm students have received 100% of their scheduled training under their NCHE-approved curricula.
Where the programme stands
According to MUST, the final intake under its 2016 curriculum graduated this year. The first cohort on the 2023 four-year curriculum is in its final year and due to graduate in October 2027. The first students on the new five-year curriculum, launched in 2024, are in Year 3 and expected to graduate in October 2029. A new five-year competence-based (CBET) curriculum has been submitted to NCHE for approval.
The standoff so far
PSU withdrew recognition of the programme on October 19 and said on October 27 that MUST graduates would not be eligible for registration as pharmacists until its concerns were resolved. NCHE has insisted the programme remains fully accredited and that teaching should continue. A meeting between NCHE and PSU set for October 27 was postponed.
PSU has not yet publicly responded to MUST’s letter. CampusBee has contacted PSU and MUST for comment and will update this story.
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