Audit team at Busoga University as gov’t prepares takeover

By George Mangula

Officials from the Office of the Auditor General are camped at the campus of the closed Busoga University in Iganga District to establish the value of its assets and liabilities before full government takeover, as ordered by President Museveni some time back.

The team started its work last week where they sought to establish the university’s financial management discipline, student population and staffing, among other concerns.

Aggrey Kibenge, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Education, said the officials would establish loans acquired by the university but also crosscheck why it did not fulfill requirements by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) which regulates higher institutions of learning especially universities.

“If there are any loans owed by the university, what was the money used for? What was the status of the courses the university was offering? Had they been accredited by the NCHE? All these have to be established,” Kibenge said.

Over 3,000 students of the university are at home following its closure by NCHE last year over failure to meet minimum requirements. NCHE also revoked the university’s license, something that has made it hard for the university to re-open.

Officials of the university petitioned NCHE last month requesting them to reconsider the closure. Their request hasn’t been fulfilled as the university’s operating license is still suspended.

In a letter recent addressed to the first lady Janet Museveni who also doubles as the Minister of Education and Sports, Museveni ordered government’s takeover of two struggling private universities, Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal and the Iganga-based Busoga University.