Kyambogo University has expanded its undergraduate programs offered at regional learning centers. This is aimed at increasing accessibility for students and alleviating the pressure on its main campus.
Addressing the public, Dr. Annie Begumisa, the Academic Registrar, announced that 16 undergraduate programs are now available at the university’s Bushenyi and Soroti learning centers. Eligible students are encouraged to apply.
“Kyambogo University invites applications for courses offered at the learning centers in Bushenyi and Soroti. Interested candidates should submit their applications,” the university stated.
The university’s new offerings at these centers include programs in education, business, community development, public administration, accounting and finance, social sciences, and banking.
The development comes at a time when the main admission process for both public and private students in many public universities has been completed and the admission list is already out.
However, Professor Eli Katunguka, the University Vice Chancellor, said that the university senate has extended the admission deadline for undergraduate programs at the learning centers until the 25th of July.
The vice chancellor added that students who applied to Kyambogo University in the main round but were not successful are highly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, as they might be given consideration.
Available data shows that during the main admission process for the August intake this year, at least 24,000 students applied to Kyambogo University. However, due to resource constraints, the main campus could only admit 14,000 students, with an expectation that around 1,000 more might enroll.
With more students qualifying for higher education, Kyambogo University has become a preferred destination, leading to an increase in the student population at the main campus. To address this, the university opened regional centers in 2019 to decongest the main campus and provide more Ugandans access to higher education.
This initiative ensures that students from various regions, whose parents might not afford to send them to Kampala, can receive higher education closer to home. Bushenyi serves the western region and Soroti serves the eastern region, while the university is still looking for a location to establish a center in the northern region.
Katunguka assured students and parents that the two learning centers have been equipped with the necessary resources and staff to deliver the same curriculum as the main campus.
He highlighted that in previous academic years, the best students have often come from these centers, citing the example of the top student in 2022 who was from Bushenyi. With all learners receiving the same assessments, he believes this demonstrates that the centers provide quality education comparable to the main campus.
Meanwhile, the vice chancellor also mentioned that the university is in the final stages of discussions to further extend graduate programs to the learning centers. This move aims to ensure that people in these areas do not have to travel to Kampala to upgrade their education or take study leaves, allowing them to continue working while accessing education locally.
He added that the university is currently focused on ensuring they have the necessary resources and staff to start offering popular postgraduate programs at the postgraduate diploma and master’s levels.
With the demand for higher education rising across the country, several public and private universities are increasingly establishing learning centers and campuses in various regions to provide greater access to higher education and tap into underserved areas.
However, the National Council for Higher Education-NCHE has recently closed several learning centers and campuses of different universities after finding they did not meet the minimum required standards. The council has consistently advised students to ensure that the programs, institutions, and campuses they are applying to are accredited.
In the case of Kyambogo, the two learning centers they operate are fully accredited by the council. Other public universities, such as Makerere, MUBS, Busitema, and Gulu, also run learning centers in different areas.
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