Busoga University campus
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The sleeping giant of higher education in Busoga is set for a new beginning after Cabinet approved the takeover of Busoga University and its conversion into a public university, paving the way for the region’s first government-owned university.
The decision, announced on Tuesday by ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba, followed a Cabinet meeting held on Monday, October 5, 2026. Cabinet resolved that the institution, which will be renamed Iganga University, should be established as a public university.
Lumumba said the Ministry of Education and Sports had been authorised to work with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to prepare the legal instrument required to establish the university. The proposal will then be presented to Parliament for approval before the institution can formally begin operating.
“After discussing the proposal to establish Busoga University as a public university, the cabinet decided to name it Iganga University,” Lumumba said.
Inherited campuses taken over
The planned university will not be limited to the former main campus in Iganga. Government intends to incorporate the other campuses that belonged to the former Busoga University, expanding its reach across the subregion.
Lumumba said Namasagali would become a constituent college specialising in marine and fisheries studies, while campuses in Bugiri, Namutumba, Bugabula and Jinja would also be incorporated.
“But also the university will include all other inherited campuses in the region,” she said, noting that the land had already been handed over to government.
The expansion is expected to give students in Busoga greater access to university education while allowing government to develop programmes suited to the region’s economic potential, particularly in agriculture, fisheries, marine resources and other areas.
CoU formally handed over university
The Cabinet decision brings closer to completion a takeover process that has been delayed for years.
Busoga University opened in 1999 as a private institution established by the Church of Uganda, with its main campus in Iganga. However, the National Council for Higher Education revoked its operating licence on November 27, 2017, citing shortcomings including inadequate qualified staff and the teaching of unaccredited courses.
The closure left the future of the institution uncertain and triggered government efforts to take it over and transform it into a public university.
A major step was achieved in December 2024 when the Church of Uganda formally transferred the university to the Ministry of Education and Sports at Nakasero State Lodge.
The handover included a 215.4-acre land title and a Memorandum of Agreement involving government, the Church of Uganda and Busoga University Limited, covering the institution’s assets and liabilities.
Shs15.2bn liabilities inherited
The takeover, however, comes with a substantial financial burden. According to the Auditor General, Busoga University had verified liabilities amounting to Shs15.2 billion. At the time of the initial handover, Shs7.05 billion remained unpaid.
Government subsequently assumed responsibility for the institution’s outstanding obligations as it prepared to revive the university.
The Ministry of Finance has now been tasked with providing Shs89.998 billion to establish Iganga University and enable it to begin operations. Cabinet has not yet announced an opening date.
At the time of the handover, Education Minister Janet Museveni said government would upgrade the university’s infrastructure to meet the required standards.
Rebuilding the institution
Government had earlier established a Task Force Management Committee chaired by Prof. John Robert Tabuti, supported by a steering committee led by the then State Minister for Higher Education, Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, who is now acting Minister of Education.
The management structures were tasked with running the institution during the transition, developing new curricula and aligning academic programmes with national university standards.
The process also involves addressing the legal and academic challenges that contributed to the withdrawal of the university’s licence in 2017.
The institution must upgrade infrastructure, recruit qualified staff, develop accredited programmes and undergo the necessary processes to regain accreditation from the National Council for Higher Education.
First public university in Busoga
The establishment of Iganga University is expected to fill a longstanding gap in public higher education in Busoga.
Although the region has had access to universities and other tertiary institutions, the conversion of the former Busoga University into a public institution would give the subregion its first government-owned university.
The final legal framework and gazetted name will depend on the processes before Parliament and the Ministry of Education.
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