Govt to fully operationalise Mountains of the Moon University on July 1
The university is being run by the transition task force committee that was appointed by the Ministry of Education. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Prof Achanga said the current staff at the university will be assessed by the new governing council members and validated by the public service before they become public servants in the next financial year.
Government is set to operationalise Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) as a public university effective July 1.
The chairperson of MMU transition taskforce, Prof Pius Coxwell Achanga, on Monday told Daily Monitor that the date was instituted following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the university’s board of trustees and the government last week.
“Currently, MMU is the10th public university because it was gazetted after signing of the agreement last week and it spells out the actual date of July 1 for its full operationalisation. The university does not have a governing council but we shall put it in place soon,” Mr Achanga said.
He said the university is being run by the transition task force committee that was appointed by the Ministry of Education.
Prof Achanga said the committee’s mandate is to ensure the university gets a new governing council before July 1.
“When we get the university governing council, it will appoint the Vice Chancellor and other bodies,” he said.
Prof Achanga said the current staff at the university will be assessed by the new governing council members and validated by the public service before they become public servants in the next financial year.
“It’s not automatic that all lecturers at the university will be public servants, they will be assessed and validated. Those who will qualify will be taken on by the government,” he explained.
He revealed that the university submitted the budget of Shs45 billion to the government as funds needed to run the institution in next financial year.
The Kabarole District chairman, Mr Richard Rwabuhinga, said MMU will serve as the first public university in Rwenzori Sub-region.
“This is a great achievement for this region, we want the public to utilise this opportunity and bring their students to study,” he said.
Background
Mountains of the Moon University was established as a community university in 2005 by a team of eminent people including the current Minister for Tourism Tom Butime, Prof Edward Rugumayo, Justice Seith Manyindo and others.
In 2013, the university Board of Trustees resolved that the institution be taken over by the government for it to be able to meet its operational expenses.
In 2015, the chancellor, Prof Rugumayo wrote to President Museveni requesting that the government takes over the university. In September last year, Parliament approved a motion for the government to take over the institution.
