Staffing crisis hits Kyambogo, university to hike tuition fees
Written by URN
A staffing crisis has forced Kyambogo University management to resort to part-time lecturers.
Vice chancellor Prof Eli Katunguka notes
that the university has only 404 full-time teaching staff members out
of the approved structure of 1,208 lecturers. The university has only
five professors out of the required 63 professors. It has 23 associate
professors instead of 113, and 62 senior lecturers instead of 206. There
are 176 lecturers while the university needs 312.
“There have been years when I was the
only professor at Kyambogo, and this situation has persisted for the
past decade. To address the shortage, we have hired over 500 part-time
lecturers. These lecturers are paid from outside the university’s
regular wage allocation, which is set at Shs 67 billion,” said
Katunguka.
With part-time lecturers hired at various levels,
including professors and other academic ranks, Kyambogo needs at least
Shs 16.5 billion to cover their salaries. They are paid Shs 50,000 per
hour. The university owes part-time lecturers Shs 6.5 billion in
arrears.
Due to the arrears, some lecturers have
tended to withhold student marks around graduation time. The university
is appealing for increased government support to enhance senior academic
staffing, especially in critical fields like engineering and science.
Katunguka said without the needed support, the university plans to
review and increase its tuition fees.
Kyambogo is
among the public universities charging the lowest tuition fees. It has
reportedly maintained those rates for the past 16 years. For instance,
diploma courses range from as low as Shs 320,000 for special needs
programs to Shs 850,000 for engineering courses, with other diploma
programs priced around Shs 400,000.
For bachelor's degrees, the highest
tuition at Kyambogo is Shs 1.47 million for engineering programs, which
is significantly lower than the over Shs 5 million per semester charged
by other institutions.
Most other degree programs at Kyambogo
range from Shs 420,000 to Shs 1.05 million. Katunguka stated that while
Kyambogo is reviewing its tuition fees, the increases will not match the
higher rates charged by private institutions. Instead, the new fees
will be aligned with, or potentially remain lower than, those of other
public universities.
He explained that the need for a fee
adjustment stems from significant changes over the past 16 years,
including increased costs for teaching materials, particularly in
engineering and science programs. He also noted that the budget is under
pressure due to the expenses associated with part-time staff, which has
led to outstanding arrears on other critical items, including utilities
such as water.
With part-time lecturers hired at various levels, including professors and other academic ranks, Kyambogo needs at least Shs 16.5 billion to cover their salaries. They are paid Shs 50,000 per hour. The university owes part-time lecturers Shs 6.5 billion in arrears.
He explained that the need for a fee adjustment stems from significant changes over the past 16 years, including increased costs for teaching materials, particularly in engineering and science programs. He also noted that the budget is under pressure due to the expenses associated with part-time staff, which has led to outstanding arrears on other critical items, including utilities such as water.