The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has ordered Victoria University to stop teaching, assessing and placing 314 of its new Bachelor of Pharmacy students, saying the university admitted more than seven times the number it is approved for.
In a letter to the Vice Chancellor dated November 2, PSU Secretary Dr Stephen Lutoti said Victoria admitted 364 BPharm students for its August/September 2026 intake, against an approved quota of 50 students a year in a single intake.
PSU says the university split the extra students into its own parallel cohorts of up to 50 each. The society has declared those parallel cohorts “null and void.”
PSU warned that if Victoria does not comply, it will de-recognise the university’s pharmacy programme without further notice. If that happens, Victoria’s BPharm graduates would be barred from PSU’s pre-internship and pre-registration exams, from PSU membership and from registering as pharmacists in Uganda.
The numbers
According to PSU, Victoria’s BPharm programme was accredited in April 2024 for 50 students a year, based on the facilities, staff and training sites inspected at the time.
In August 2025, the university applied to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) to raise its quota from 50 to 250 students a year across three intakes. PSU says NCHE has not yet carried out the joint NCHE-PSU inspection required before such an increase can be approved.
PSU argues that a pending application is not an approval. It says the 2026 intake of 364 is 314 above the approved 50 and 114 above even the 250 Victoria applied for. It also points out that NCHE directed in December 2023 that all medical-related programmes admit students only once a year.
PSU also cites a presentation Victoria gave during an April 2026 inspection, which it says showed 895 students enrolled across 11 intakes since September 2022:
| Intake | Students |
|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | 54 |
| Mar 2023 | 49 |
| Jul 2023 | 34 |
| Nov 2023 | 17 |
| Mar 2024 | 27 |
| Jul 2024 | 256 |
| Nov 2024 | 49 |
| Mar 2025 | 67 |
| Jul 2025 | 200 |
| Nov 2025 | 58 |
| Mar 2026 | 84 |
| Total | 895 |
Source: PSU letter to Victoria University, November 2, 2026
What PSU is demanding
- Immediately stop teaching, assessment and clinical placements for all students beyond the approved 50.
- Within seven days, submit a certified final enrolment list showing how many of the 364 actually reported, a signed list of exactly 50 retained as the approved 2026/27 cohort, and a list of the 314-plus students on hold.
- Provide a written undertaking from the Vice Chancellor halting teaching, fees and placements for the students on hold.
- Follow up with NCHE for a joint inspection of any additional facilities.
Online exams
PSU also objected to Victoria’s use of online examinations. It noted the university’s commitment that Year 3 and above core modules are examined physically and that all core modules will be going forward. But PSU insists that pharmacy students in all years must sit physical exams and practical assessments for every course, though teaching can be blended.
“Country first means regulation first”
PSU’s letter also responds to a November 1 post on X, attributed to the Vice Chancellor, which shared Victoria’s September 2026 follow-up letter to NCHE. PSU summarises the post as arguing that government tells young people to study science while PSU caps numbers, that a pharmacist is a global professional, that Uganda should promote education tourism, and that PSU is engaged in gatekeeping. PSU noted the account might not belong to the Vice Chancellor and urged him to check it.
PSU rejected each point:
- Science agenda: PSU said it supports increasing Victoria’s capacity from 50 to 250 if an inspection shows the facilities can handle it. It argued that training 364 students on infrastructure approved for 50 risks producing poorly trained graduates and endangering patients.
- Global professional: PSU said registration abroad also depends on inspected facilities and proper staffing ratios, and warned that graduates from an over-admitted programme could end up unregistrable both locally and internationally.
- Education tourism: PSU called education tourism built on unapproved admissions unfair to local and foreign parents who pay fees for a programme whose graduates may not be licensed.
- Gatekeeping: PSU said it has approved new pharmacy schools in the last five years, growing from three universities to nine, and that the register grows by about 200 pharmacists a year.
PSU said it values Victoria as a partner and is ready to support regularisation, “but compliance must precede discussion.”
A pattern of crackdowns
The letter is PSU’s latest move in a widening crackdown on pharmacy training. Last month, it withdrew recognition of Mbarara University of Science and Technology’s BPharm programme, a decision NCHE has publicly rejected. It also gave Kampala International University 30 days to show the head of its pharmacy school is a registered pharmacist.
What it means for students
The 314 students affected only joined this semester. Their academic future now depends on how Victoria responds, and on whether NCHE and PSU agree on an inspection to approve a higher quota.
Victoria University has not yet publicly responded to the letter. CampusBee has contacted the university and NCHE for comment and will update this story.
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