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Controversy still shrouds Kayiwa University
The Africa Campus of the Kayiwa International University.
What you need to know:
The institution has been operating illegally since 2007 until last December when it secured a Letter of Interim Authority from NCHE.
National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the body charged with setting standards that govern the establishment and operation of higher institutions of learning, has ordered Kayiwa International University to stop admitting students, saying its current status only allows it to establish structures.
The institution has been operating illegally since 2007 until last December when it secured a Letter of Interim Authority from NCHE. But Mr Phenny Birungi, the NCHE assistant executive director, insists that possessing the Letter of Interim Authority does not permit the institution to admit students.
“What they have is a mere Letter of Interim Authority which does not allow them to admit students. And if they insist on doing what is outside their current mandate, we shall have no option but to cancel even the letter of interim authority,” he said in an interview with Education Guide last week.
But in a telephone interview last week, Pastor Simeone Kayiwa denied admitting students at his proposed university. He said the students currently at his university belong to foreign universities, which are dually registered in the US but he declined to name the institutions.
“I am not working against their (NCHE) set guidelines in any way. What is happening is that we are mobilising funds to set up structures as indicated in the letter of interim authority,” he said
According to Section 118(1) of the university and other Tertiary Institutions Act, no person shall establish or operate as university or tertiary institution without the relevant provisional licence, charter or certificate granted by NCHE .
In 2010, about 100 Ugandan and 200 foreign students graduated from the university but their academic qualifications were questioned by NCHE, saying the institution is neither registered nor accredited.
“What happened (in 2010) is that those people were awarded academic qualifications in the US and since I have a good working relationship with the institutions there, we agreed that they receive their papers from here. In other words, we are serving as a conduit for them.” he added.
According to the university website, the institution is an online university with branches in Uganda and Tennessee,USA and is accredited by the United Association of Churches, Charitable Ministries, Chaplains and Counselors International (UACCMI) to give education guided by Christian and ethical principles.
UACCMI, however, does not show the composition of staff and founder members of United Graduate College and Seminary of Tennessee. The website shows that the university is also partnering with the Latin University of Theology in California and United Graduate College and Seminary of Tennessee.
Some of the courses offered include; PhD of Humanities with Integrated studies in Ethics & leadership PhD of Humanities with Integrated studies in Christian Leadership ,PhD of Humanities with Integrated studies in Education Leadership.
Others are Master of Humanities with Integrated Studies in Community Psychology, Master of Humanities in Business Administration, Master of Humanities with Integrated Studies in Ethics & Leadership and Master of Humanities with Integrated Studies in Development Studies.
