As Ndejje University prepares to hold this year’s graduation ceremony on Friday October 12th, a total of 87 students are likely to miss graduation. This has come as a result of Ndejje’s disagreements with its affiliate, Metropolitan International University (MIU), over failure to pay graduation fees and other outstanding balances.
It should be noted that Ndejje University signed a three year partnership deal with the Kisoro-based MIU, mainly aimed at having MIU students graduate from Ndejje. By then, MIU was seeking accreditation from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). It was later accredited in 2016.
According to information coming in from MIU, when the students completed their three-year courses, they cleared the Shs543,000 required to graduate which was deposited on the Ndejje University account in September. However, Ndejje University insists that it never received the money and MIU students will not be allowed to graduate come this Friday.
“We have not included those students on the graduation list because their university has not paid Ndejje University, so their students will not graduate until they clear all their debts with our university,” Prof Prof Eriabu Lugujjo, the Vice Chancellor of Ndejje University, said.
On the other hand, the Principal of Metropolitan International University, Mr Deogratius Ariyo has noted that this is the last bunch of students set to graduate at Ndejje, in relation to the contract signed between the two Universities.
“We signed the memorandum of understanding with Ndejje University for three years which was supposed to run from 2016 -2018 and this was our last bunch to graduate but Ndejje University has breached the contract by refusing our students from graduating on this coming Friday 12th /Oct/ 2018,” Ariyo said.
Ariyo has also added that they (MIU) are dragging Ndejje to court over this matter. “And that’s the reason why we have dragged them to court and our lawyer has served them the intention to sue letter to change their mind and put back our students on the graduation list,” he added
According to Ariyo, all the 87 students paid the money as he specified the bank accounts on which the money was deposited. “All the 87 students, who have been affected by the above problem paid their money on Ndejje University account No. 3100010135 held in centenary bank and each student deposited Shs 543,000 and they all cleared to zero balance and right now the work is with Ndejje university to verify the money paid on their account and then our students results, which we submitted, to allow them graduate,” Ariyo added.
The affected students have also dragged the two universities to court as a way of having them graduate on Friday.
Prof Lugujjo hasn’t revealed any signs of allowing these students to graduate as he advised the MIU admin to avoid using politics.
“Ndejje University is a chattered university not a provisional one like these other universities, so if they don’t pay, their students will not graduate and let them stop using politics because the time for politics will not work here,” he said.
“Our Academic registrar wrote to them on the 5th of September 2018 and asked them to submit their things to senate and up to now they have not submitted anything and how can they graduate when they have not been cleared by senate. Those people are just playing hide and seek and that man is a cheat so let him clear the university and then we shall allow their students to graduate,” he added.
