Kampala – Parliament has issued a stark warning that Uganda’s public universities are teetering on the edge of collapse, with some of the country’s youngest and most vital institutions operating at catastrophic staffing levels as low as 10%.In its report on the 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper, the Budget Committee exposed a crisis that can no longer be ignored:
- Busitema University: Just 10% staffed
- Muni University: 15.65% staffed
- Soroti University: 19% staffed
- Kabale University: 24.6% staffed
- Kyambogo University: 34% staffed (needs UGX 28.5 billion immediately to fill wage gaps)
- Makerere University: 39.63% staffed
These are not just numbers. They are universities where a handful of lecturers are expected to teach hundreds of students, supervise research, and keep entire faculties alive.
When staffing dips below 20%, the National Council for Higher Education can strip accreditation from entire programmes. That means medical students at Busitema, engineering students at Soroti, and agriculture students at Muni could soon hold degrees that no longer count.Lecturers are exhausted. Research is dying. Students are being short-changed. And the dream of a skilled workforce to drive Uganda’s Vision 2040 is slipping away.A concerned Ugandan captured the national outrage on social media: “How does a university run with only 10% staffing? How is this even legal?”
Vice Chairperson Hon. Remigio Achia delivered the report with unmistakable gravity. The committee is not asking for sympathy — it is demanding action. Its clear recommendation: lift average staffing across public universities to at least 50% in the 2026/27 financial year.
These universities train the doctors who will staff our hospitals, the engineers who will build our roads and oil infrastructure, the teachers who will educate the next generation, and the scientists who will solve our biggest challenges.When Busitema, Muni, and Soroti cannot recruit lecturers, the entire country pays the price — in weaker health systems, stalled innovation, and a workforce that cannot compete.
The path forward is clear and achievable:
- Emergency Wage Injection: Release the UGX 28.5 billion for Kyambogo and equivalent funds for Busitema, Muni, Soroti and others to clear arrears and launch immediate recruitment.
- Fast-Track Hiring: Prioritise STEM lecturers with competitive pay, research grants, and housing incentives to attract and keep talent.
- Smart Partnerships: Bring in private sector, diaspora, and international funders through performance-linked grants that reward universities for hitting staffing targets.
- Fix the Funding Model: Move beyond the broken capitation system to a sustainable, needs-based formula that matches ambition with resources.
- Independent Oversight: Create a joint government-university-parliament task force with quarterly public reporting so no one can hide from the numbers.
Parliament has done the hard part — it has named the crisis and set the target. The 2026/27 budget is the moment to prove whether government is serious about saving our universities.Watchdog Uganda will stay on this story — tracking every shilling, every promise, and every new lecturer hired — until the lecture halls are full again.Because the future of Uganda’s young people cannot wait.Got data, stories or solutions from these universities? Share safely with us.
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