Mbarara, Uganda – The first time Robert rose to the campus of the Mbarara University of Sciences and Technology, he thought he entered the rooms of a prestigious institution that had formed some of the best doctors in the country. The university is the second oldest public university of Uganda after the University of Makerere, and is famous for focusing on science and technology.
But this reputation crosses quickly, explains Robert, who asked to be referred only by his first name for fear of remuneration.
While the number of students has increased, the facilities did not follow the pace. Laboratories are always overcrowded, he said. Basic tools such as centrifuges and test tubes that students need for practical training are ruined. Some who are intended for a student are shared between six.
“We end up not having enough skills,” said Robert, now in his second year, continuing a diploma in medicine and surgery. He worries that after graduating, he might have to relearn these skills in another institution before being able to treat patients with confidence.
Officials at the University of Mbarara did not respond to requests for an interview. But in March, a joint inspection of the Ugandan medical and dental practitioners’ council and the Uganda National Council for Higher Education offered an additional image of the seriousness of the situation in the institution.
“Their biomedical laboratories were in poor condition, below what we expect from medical schools,” said Dr. Ayub Twa, vice-president of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners. “We wanted to take drastic measures, such as the suspension of admissions.”
Disturbed financing flows
Other higher education experts say that many public universities across the country are struggling with similar challenges. They indicate a reform of the 2019 government which changed the way in which public universities manage their finances as a root of this crisis.
Under politics, the government now demands that students from all public universities pay the tuition fees directly to Uganda returned Authority rather than universities as they had done before. Then the government disburses money to institutions.
The goal was to slow down fraud and ensure transparency. Government representatives say politics has done that exactly.
“What was collected by the universities was opaque. No one knew how much universities were going, “said Hannington Ashaba, acting director of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. He added that since the government has introduced politics, income has tripled.
But people inside the system claim that the training of university funds through the country’s tax authority has rather paralyzed funding flows, bare financial flexibility establishments and, therefore, has eroded the quality of the education they offer.
Twa, the head of the medical council, says that politics is part of the reason why institutions like Mbarara are fighting. With universities unable to access and manage their own tuition funds directly, basic maintenance stands. “(It takes) time and even then, money is not both given. It comes from slices,” he said.
The visit of March, he said, has been the fifth time that the regulators of inspects the institution and have stressed the same persistent problems.
The situation is the same in other public universities. Ibrahim Mike Okumu, an associate professor and dean of the School of Economics at the University of Makerere, said that when universities managed their own tuition funds, it was easier to plan and execute programs. Things had to change, he said.
“The Makerere School of Law no longer offers a evening lessons. Many short courses that have been given to the faculty of economy have been interrupted, “he said.
Money comes – finally
While Ashaba, the Director of Acting Budget of the Ministry of Finance, agrees that the bureaucratic processes created by the new policy can delay things, in the end, he says, the money reaches institutions. “The only problem is timing,” he says. “We have quarterly outings. But all the money that comes back finally comes back to them. ”
The disbursement depends on what is available in government chests, explains Francis Muhumuza, principal economist of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
“We manage a cash budget. We choose what is in the attic. The pocket is sometimes empty, “he said, adding that if there is money, the government generally processes funding requests in three days. But, he says, the country does not have “enough money to make everyone happy”.
Behind the curve
For medical students, the consequences could be disastrous. Training them in poorly equipped medicine schools means that they may not meet regional standards, explains Peter Waiswa, associate professor and expert in health policy and Makerere University School of Public Health.
“If they don’t learn, you kill science, medicine and the market. You cannot recruit people in your country who are incompetent, ”he says.
Twa also warns that graduates of Ugandan medical schools may soon have trouble finding work abroad. In the Eastern African region, countries have a reciprocal recognition program, he says, and the lack of appropriate infrastructure could risk this.
“There are few jobs in Uganda,” said Edward, a medical student in Mbarara who prefers to use his first name for fear of remuneration. “If we cannot be allowed to practice outside of Uganda, we will remain unemployed or modify the professions.”
Generally, he says, the situation frustrates students from universities, which fueled students’ strikes and disrupted learning.
It’s a matter of confidence, says Waiswa. The government must trust universities and give them a certain flexibility in funding, he says.
Finally, poor training will not only threaten the future of students, but the country’s ability to build a competent workforce, says Waiswa. And with regard to medical training, this directly affects the health system and the well-being of the country’s 48 million citizens, he adds.