UCC Kigumba Deserves a University Status
By Monday Akol Amazima
Gone are the days when Makerere University Kampala (MUK) was the only university in the country where by then, the word Makerere was assumed to be synonymous with university.
During those days, most students dreamed of joining the ivory tower since it was the only place they expected to get a degree in whatever field of their choice.
However, the late eighties saw the growth of universities to the extent that today, in Uganda, we have over forty universities both private and public.
Inasmuch as we have a growing number of universities, we are yet to have a cooperative university and this is the main reason as to why Uganda Cooperative College – Kigumba should be upgraded to a university.
During that same time of MUK as the only university, the three traditional East African countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania started cooperative colleges.
Uganda established Tororo and Kigumba Cooperative Colleges to train personnel that would manage and develop cooperative societies in the country.
At independence and shortly thereafter, communities were encouraged to form cooperative societies so as to access goods and services plus enabling their children to go to school.
It should be noted that the cooperative colleges in Kenya and Tanzania have since been elevated to universities where by Moshi Cooperative College where President Museveni previously taught is now a cooperative university.
Equally, Kenya has the Cooperative University of Kenya. This is largely why the cooperative societies and SACCOs in Tanzania and Kenya are successful as compared to Uganda.
Kenya and Tanzania have scholars up to the level of PhDs in cooperatives and these have become a key human resource in developing the cooperative movement in these countries.
Uganda Cooperative College Kigumba is a suitable candidate for the upgrade given the fact that it already has the starting infrastructure on which a university can be developed.
James Omudu, the College Principal, says the college has enough land and the structures that they have can be used for a start as the university rolls out.
Most universities in Uganda, such as Kyambogo, Bishop Stuart plus many others have been developed out of former diploma awarding institutions.
KyambogoUniversity was created out of merging UPK, ITEK plus UNISE. NTC. Kakoba is now Bishop Stuart University.
According to Asimwe Ivan, the CEO Uganda Cooperative Alliance, it is time Uganda thought of revamping the cooperative movement in the country. And this can best be done by strengthening cooperative education.
“One of the cooperative colleges preferably Kigumba should be elevated to a university so that the country can have technocrats to manage and run the cooperative movement. Some Scholars are of the view that we can have the Cooperative University of Uganda with two campuses of Kigumba and Tororo. Upgrading the two cooperative institutions will be a remarkable milestone in resurrecting the cooperative movement in Uganda that has had challenges so much that even the only cooperative bank is no longer functional,” arguesAsimwe.
As the country thinks about when to start a cooperative university, the management of Uganda Cooperative College Kigumba is already in talks with the Cooperative University of Kenya so that they can begin degree programs with the Cooperative University of Kenya as the awarding institution.
This arrangement has worked for many starting universities before they have a charter of their own. For example Uganda Christian University was the awarding institution for Bishop Baraam University and Bishop Stuart University before the universities could have their charters.
Equally it means some of the lecturers from Kenya will always come to render their services in Uganda till such a time when Uganda can develop her own human resource to teach at the university.
Government programmes such as the Parish Development Model is a vehicle that has been designed to boost household incomes and empower people right from parish level but, this wonderful program will require experts and technical people that can handle it effectively.
Experts of this nature can best be produced by a university specialized in training cooperators and can always carry out studies plus scholarly research on why previous initiatives did not succeed then from time to time advise government when it comes to programs that require empowering people
The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) is an institution of the East African Community, which is a regional intergovernmental organization of the republics of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.
IUCEA aims at fostering collaboration between universities in the EAC region.
It was founded in 1980 and more often has helped universities build capacity through exchange programs.
When an education institution seeks to start a program where they do not have enough human resource, the IUCEA upon request sources for such personnel at its own cost and sends them to the particular institution.
Through such an arrangement once the cooperative university is operational in Uganda, experts from Moshi Cooperative University and The Cooperative University of Kenya can always come to support the growth of the institution.
