NCHE, Tayebwa reassure students as MUST appoints pharmacist to head pharmacy department

The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and Parliament have reassured students and parents that the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) remains fully accredited, dismissing a unilateral decision by the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) to derecognize the programme.

The regulator's stance follows an October 19 notice by the PSU, in which the professional body withdrew recognition of the degree due to concerns over leadership and staffing. The society objected to the university previously placing a lecturer with a nursing background as acting head of the pharmacy department.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, NCHE Executive Director Prof Mary Okwakol maintained that withdrawing recognition of academic qualifications remains the exclusive legal mandate of the Council, not professional bodies.

“Withdrawal of recognition of qualifications of graduates of a given programme or academic institution is the preserve of the National Council for Higher Education,” Prof Okwakol said. “The National Council for Higher Education was neither involved nor consulted in the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda’s unilateral decision to withdraw its recognition of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme at Mbarara University of Science and Technology.”

Prof Okwakol noted that the programme was first accredited in 2010 and received its latest re-accreditation on January 30, 2025, valid through 2036. She added that all previous accreditations were conducted in consultation with the PSU as required by law, emphasizing that teaching and learning at MUST should proceed without disruption.

University takes action
To resolve the impasse, MUST Vice Chancellor Prof Pauline Byakika-Kibwika confirmed in an October 20 letter to the NCHE that the university has appointed Dr Jonans Tusiimire, a pharmacist by profession, as the Acting Head of the Department of Pharmacy for three months, effective October 19, 2026.

“Management has appointed Dr Jonans Tusiimire, who is currently a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at MUST, and also serving as the President of the PSU, as Acting Head of Department of Pharmacy at MUST,” Prof Byakika-Kibwika stated.
She explained that Dr Tusiimire will provide academic and administrative leadership to ensure his pharmacy expertise guides decisions regarding curriculum delivery, staffing, and professional activities while the university completes a substantive hiring process by December.

Explaining how the leadership gap arose, Prof Byakika-Kibwika said the former head of department—an Associate Professor of Pharmacy—resigned in May 2026 (effective July 2026) to join another public university. When elections were called in July, no pharmacist at or above the rank of Senior Lecturer was available to take up the post.

In the interim, the university temporarily appointed a senior lecturer holding a PhD in Pharmacology and a background in nursing. Prof Byakika-Kibwika defended the initial interim arrangement, pointing to the lecturer's extensive research profile in clinical trials, pharmaco-epidemiology, and 15 years of interventional study experience.

Despite the university's intervention, PSU Secretary Dr Stephen Lutoti indicated when contacted that the society maintains its council resolution to derecognize the programme, though he admitted they had not yet received formal communication from MUST regarding Dr Tusiimire’s appointment.

Parliament intervenes
The dispute also reached the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, where Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa confirmed that he had consulted NCHE leadership following calls from concerned parents and students.
“The students are learning and being taught an accredited course,” Mr Tayebwa told MPs, noting an apparent overlap in the legal mandates governing pharmacy training between the regulator and the professional society.

Mr Tayebwa directed the Minister of Education and Sports to present a comprehensive statement on the matter on Thursday, October 22, 2026, alongside guidance from the Attorney General regarding the legal framework.
Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi urged quick government intervention to clear up administrative hurdles, stating, “If it is a question of somebody heading a department who requires a particular set of qualifications, I think that should be sorted out so that students are not in disarray.”

Minister of State for Education and Sports Peter Ogwang pledged that the ministry would deliver the official statement to Parliament as directed.
Meanwhile, Prof Byakika-Kibwika revealed that MUST secured clearance from the Ministry of Public Service on October 14 to recruit and promote academic staff, after obtaining the necessary funding approval from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.