Students graduating from Makerere University in Uganda. (-)

The Ugandan government has reportedly established in a new report that the five top universities in the country are running at least 222 course that are not accredited by the higher education council.

According to Daily Monitor newspaper, the findings are contained in the Auditor General’s report presented in parliament on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

It was reported that the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) conducted a review of about 692 courses being taught at the top universities, where only 332 have been accredited.

“Analysis of programmes from five universities revealed that out of the 692 programmes, only 332 were accredited, 128 have been sent to NCHE for accreditation and 222 have not been accredited,” reads the report, quoted in Monitor publication.

In the report, about 347 courses reviewed from Makerere University, only 149 have been accredited, while 120 have been rejected and 78 are being under scrutiny.

A similar trend was also established in review conducted on several other top universities.

It is feared that the report could hinder the affected students from securing jobs or advancing their studies abroad using such qualifications.

An expired course refers to a degree or diploma program that lacks proper accreditation from the National Council for Higher Education, the statutory regulator of the sector. Consequently, these qualifications are legally and technically deemed null and void.

The report of Uganda offering expired courses first emerged in May 2023, leaving affected graduates and students in shock.

On January 3, 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced plans to suspend accreditation of university degrees from Kenya and Uganda in what it said is an effort to crackdown on fraudulent academic certificates.