Karamoja MPs in Committee Meeting ; Peter Abrahams Lokii (in blue shirt)
A section of Members of Parliament from Karamoja has criticised the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) for what they describe as a premature verdict on the proposed Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
The concerns follow remarks by NCHE Executive Director, Mary Okwakol, who told the Parliamentary Education Committee that the university project had stalled due to failure to meet accreditation guidelines under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act.
Prof. Okwakol said the university promoters had failed to follow required procedures, noting that compliance with NCHE guidance would have enabled them to secure a provisional licence.
“The problem is that the university council members are not listening to the National Council for Higher Education. If they had followed the procedures, they would by now have a provisional licence,” she told the committee.
However, Peter Abrahams Lokii, the Member of Parliament for Jie County in Kotido District, disagreed with the NCHE position, accusing the regulator of preempting due process.
Lokii, who also serves as an ex-officio member of the Karamoja Peace and Technology University (KAPATU) Project University Council, argued that Prof. Okwakol should have allowed the standard procedures followed by other public universities to run their course.
He dismissed claims that the project had stalled, insisting that the committee overseeing its establishment had fulfilled all necessary requirements for approval.
“The statements that it has stalled, it has failed, or it has not complied are already sending signals. Under normal circumstances, they should have allowed the process that other universities have gone through for KAPATU to follow as well. It is not true that we stalled,” Lokii said.
The proposed Karamoja Peace and Technology University is expected to expand access to higher education and support development in the Karamoja sub-region.
In a related development,there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the development and rollout of a new curriculum for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) after intervention from Parliament.
With this intervention from the Committee on Education and Sports, the Ministry of Education and Sports has been tasked to expedite the release of Shs 9 billion to the TVET Council, warning that under funding is constraining delivery of technical and vocational training services.
The legislators expressed concern on Friday, 10 April 2026 in a meeting with ministry officials led by State Minister for Higher Education, Hon. John Muyingo after learning that of the Shs 10 billion allocated to the council for the 2025/2026 financial year, only Shs 1 billion had been released, and worryingly, as late as March 2026.
They said the delay has undermined implementation of key reforms under the TVET Act, 2025, particularly the new curriculum.
“Madam Permanent Secretary, you rather release that money to the council and they move at rocket speed, you also need to give the TVET providers guidance on when the old curriculum ends, and when the new one will take effect,” said committee chairperson, Hon. James Kubeketerya.
Bunyaruguru County MP, Hon. John Ntamuhira, noted that despite enactment of the law establishing the TVET Council, implementation has been slow, raising concerns over whether financial constraints are at the centre of the delays.
He cited the delayed operationalisation of Sector Skills Expert Committees, mandated to guide curriculum development, warning that this could disrupt the upcoming assessment cycle for TVET students.
“The draft timetable for assessment is out, in case there are further delays regarding review of curriculum and in case the ministry foresees further delays in giving accreditation and licences to providers and their programmes, the assessment centres should sit with TVET and forge a way forward,” Ntamuhira said.
He added that assessment boards are grappling with curriculum related challenges, noting that accreditation of assessment centres has stalled because the new law does not recognise existing institutions.
Kashari South County MP, Hon. Nathan Itungo, questioned how the council is conducting licencing, registration and accreditation of institutions while the sector continues to operate on an old curriculum developed by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC).
“If there are no curriculum and programmes developed yet, which capacity indicators are you using to inspect, register and licence TVET providers? I thought you would base the capacity of the applying institution and its capacity to offer certain programmes,” Itungo questioned.
He also raised concern over the May–June 2026 assessment period, urging the Ministry to clarify the transition timeline between the old and new curriculum and assessment systems.
The committee further tasked the ministry to resolve overlapping mandates between the TVET Council and NCDC, noting that both institutions are currently seeking funding for regulation of diploma-awarding institutions in TVET.
The acting Executive Director of the Council, Winston Abanaitwe, said operations remain constrained due to limited funding. He noted that staffing currently stands at only 10 percent of the approved structure by the Ministry of Public Service.
Abanaitwe added that 20 percent of recruited staff lack office space and are currently housed at the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) offices. He also cited limited transport and staffing as key challenges affecting inspection and licensing of TVET providers.
“So far 76 institutions have been inspected. A total of 239 applications were handed over for registration and licencing in December 2025, they were reviewed and scheduled for inspection, which commenced but progressing slowly,” he said.
