Hotel and tourism training institute set to double student enrollment
The Principal Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI), Mr Richard Kawere. PHOTO / COURTESY
What you need to know:
- UHTTI Principal, Mr Richard Kawere, announced on Tuesday that the institute expects to grow to 1,500 students by the 2025/2026 academic year.
Student enrollment at the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI) in Jinja City is projected to increase by over 500 students in the next academic year following the completion of an ultra-modern Shs19 billion project funded by the World Bank.
The project includes the construction of a facility that will feature classrooms, a computer laboratory, a library, a multi-purpose hall, student hostels, language laboratories, offices, and sports facilities, among others. Construction began last October by the Chinese firm CRJE, which has temporarily relocated the institute to YMCA Jinja Campus during the building phase.
UHTTI Principal, Mr Richard Kawere, announced on Tuesday that the institute expects to grow to 1,500 students by the 2025/2026 academic year. “We are projected to grow to 1,500 students by the academic year 2025/2026; by that time we shall be operating in the new premises; so, we will have adequate space to onboard at least 1,500 students.”
According to Mr Kawere, they are currently operating at about 1,000 students, including 550 pursuing academic programmes, and 450 on apprenticeship programmes, adding that the institute currently receives “in excess of 2,500 applications”.
“It is only when we increase the capacity, infrastructure that we will be able to uptake some of these students who apply and they are not taken because of limited capacity in terms of numbers,” Mr Kawere further explained.
Mr Kawere says work on the Crested Crane Hotel stands at 97 percent, and they intend to receive the hotel from the contractor by November 30, after which they will be able to give the public a timeline in which they will be able to open.
The refurbishment of the three-star Crested Crane Hotel began in 2018, aiming to elevate the institution's standards to a center of excellence and enhance the skills of the tourism sector's workforce to meet global standards.
Mr Kawere also mentioned that the institute has acquired a new catering van and a vehicle for driver training, aimed at improving event catering services and enhancing training capacity for students pursuing diplomas and certificates in tourism and driver guiding.
"One of the requirements is that a student graduates with a driving license, while the catering van will also be a revenue-generating component for the institution,” he said.
He added that the vehicles are part of the general $11.5 million World Bank funding which is intended to construct the hotel, school and equip it with this kind of facilities.
The institute’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Daniel Kazungu, said their goal as the lone government hospitality school in the country is to churn out skilled manpower for the industry.
“We hope to dominate not only the national but regional market. All the developments at the Institute, including the three-star hotel, the new ultra-modern institute infrastructure and now the recently-acquired catering van and driver training vehicle are aimed at boosting the catering and tourism departments respectively,” Mr Kazungu said.
