KAMPALA – The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the regulatory body of higher institutions in Uganda has said that it was illegal for Kayiwa International University to hold its graduation on Friday 10 June.
A field team from NCHE that was led by Mr Cyrus Sebugenyi says they closed the institution in 2019 after failing to meet the minimum requirements needed to run a university.
Among the requirements that led to the institution’s closure were lack of qualified personnel to teach the different courses, failure to pay taxes, lack of infrastructure and not having a university council among other reasons.
Mr Semugenyi says the institution was given a letter of accreditation in 2015 promising to meet all the necessary requirements of the NCHE, something they failed to do which prompted the regulatory body to withdraw the license in 2019.
He explains that before their closure, they held a number of meetings to streamline their operations but all the deliberations fell on deaf ears as no change from the university was made.
At the graduation, NCHE officials made it public that all those awarded degrees from the institution should know that their documents are null and void and won’t be accepted anywhere in Uganda.
The body wanted to close the institution amidst its graduation ceremony but they were stopped by Rubaga RCC Anderson Burora. They however said the concerned authorities will be dragged to court and the DPP will prosecute them.
Background
In 2020, Dr Emurwon Olupot, an official from NCHE, said the online university, based at Pastor Simeon Kayiwa’s Namirembe Christian Church, is illegal and its academic qualifications cannot be recognised.
Pastor Kayiwa, however, termed the Council’s allegation as “ridiculous’saying the university does not need to be accredited in Uganda because it already has a charter and an accreditation in USA.
NCHE has, on various occasions, invited Pastor Kayiwa to their office and explained to him the need to register and the processes to follow, “Up to now he has not complied. This university is operating illegally in Uganda. If you get a certificate from there, it will not be recognised for higher education or employment or for contesting for political office,” Dr Olupot said then.
Although the university claims to be a Ugandan representative of Latin University; on its website, Latin University denies any link with it. “Latin University of Theology does not have any authorised representatives in Ecuador and Columbia,” a statement on the website read. “There are no official universities operating in the country of Uganda.”
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