Busitema University’s Higher Education Certificate Programme has quietly transformed over 90,000 students’ lives since 2019. Now a Zimbabwean government delegation has flown in to study how it works.
Faith Ongodia had resigned herself to staying home after failing A-Level. She wasn’t planning for university. She wasn’t planning for much.
“I was rotting at home after failing A-Level, but once I got here, I performed very well and I am now pursuing my degree course. To date, I still can’t believe it,” she says.
What changed her story was a programme that most Ugandans have never heard of — and that a delegation from Zimbabwe just flew in specifically to study.
Busitema University’s Higher Education Certificate Programme was introduced in 2019 with a simple but radical premise: students who missed direct university entry requirements — whether they scored poorly at A-Level or got only one principal pass — deserve a structured pathway back into higher education rather than a permanent door closed in their face.
The programme gives those students a chance to bridge their academic gaps, build the skills needed for degree-level study, and qualify for university admission. It is not a consolation prize. It is a functioning pipeline.
And the numbers behind it are striking. According to the National Council for Higher Education, which accredited the programme, more than 50 institutions across Uganda are now running it — and over 90,000 students have benefited since its launch six years ago.
“The programme is doing very well. So far, we have over 50 institutions implementing it, and more than 90,000 students have benefited,” said Rev. Dr. Cyrus Ssebugenyi, Head of Audit Monitoring and Compliance at the Council.
Maurice Owor’s A-Level results were not supposed to lead anywhere useful. He got one principal pass — the kind of result that, in Uganda’s system, typically marks the end of a student’s formal education ambitions.
“My A-Level journey was not good. I got one principal pass, but when Busitema University advertised the Higher Education Certificate Programme, I applied and was shortlisted,” he says.
He was also identified as a vulnerable student and received support from FAWE Uganda. He completed the programme, earned good grades, and is now pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
“I am grateful to the National Council for Higher Education for accepting this programme,” he added.
His story is one of thousands. According to Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul Waako, students who came through the programme are now graduating this year as engineers, nurses, and doctors — professions Uganda desperately needs more of.
“This is a story of success and a story of enhancing opportunities for vulnerable children. A number of our students are already engineers, while others are nurses and doctors graduating this year,” Prof. Waako said.
Prof. Waako was careful not to present the programme as perfect. Despite its success, a significant number of students still drop out — not because of academic failure, but because they cannot afford the tuition fees.
“Some still face challenges of dropping out due to tuition fees. We hope government can recognise this programme like others through sponsorship support to help vulnerable learners complete their studies,” he said.
It is the uncomfortable gap at the heart of an otherwise compelling success story: a programme that works academically but remains financially precarious for the students who need it most. Government sponsorship, which would give it the same stability as conventional degree programmes, has not yet materialised.
The international validation came in the form of a benchmarking delegation from Zimbabwe, led by the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Africa, which recently visited Busitema to study the model in detail.
The delegation met students, programme coordinators, and university administrators before touring facilities. Leading them was Prof. Fanuel Tagwira, Permanent Secretary in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education — a senior enough figure to signal that this is not a casual study visit. Zimbabwe is seriously considering replicating the model.
“We received a team from Uganda in Zimbabwe that talked highly about this programme, and we realised it could provide a solution to challenges we face back home. Many students, especially female students, fail to proceed to university after missing the required two principal passes. We are here to study the programme so that we can possibly implement it in Zimbabwe,” Prof. Tagwira said.
The gender dimension he highlights is significant. Across sub-Saharan Africa, girls disproportionately miss university cut-off points — not always because of academic ability, but because of the compounding factors of early marriage, household responsibilities, limited access to quality schools, and the pressure to exit education early. A second-chance programme specifically designed to catch those students has obvious appeal.
Uganda built something that works. 90,000 students. 50 institutions. Six years. Graduates who are now engineers and medical professionals. A foreign government delegation studying the model for export.
The question is whether Uganda’s own government will invest in it before another country builds on it first.
