Government takes over Mountains of the Moon University

The government has taken over management of the Mountains of Moon University in Fort Portal, the Nile Post has learnt.

Following a request by the university management, President Museveni early this year directed the Education and Sports ministry to take over the institution of higher learning.

The University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr.Edmond Kabagambe on Wednesday confirmed to this website the takeover.

“A task force has been put in place to oversee the transition and final takeover of the university by government,” Dr.Kabagambe told this website.

He said the four man team will comprise Dr.Pius Coxwell Achanga as the chairperson, Prof.John Kasenene (Vice chairperson), himself(Kabagambe) and Grace Kazooba Nyakahuma as members.

The team will coordinate and implement the restructuring of Mountains of the Moon into a public University, including the restructuring of the administrative and academic units and also coordinate development of policies, manuals, charters and statutes of the university.

The transition exercise will take two years.

“I would like to thank President Museveni, the Education Minister and all other stakeholders for making this a reality. It is my hope and expectation that the same level of support and guidance will continue throughout this transition period and beyond,” the university deputy vice chancellor said.

Why the take over

Dr.Kabagambe told this website that the stakeholders in the university asked government to take it over as one of the ways to have a share on the national cake as a region.

"The entire Albertine region does not have a public university and we thought it would be wise if Mountains of the Moon University is now taken over by government so we can enjoy benefits of being a public university,” he said.

He noted that because the university has been on the right track since its foundation in 2005, it was wise for government to take it over to protect the interests of the stakeholders who include religious, cultural institutions and the local communities in the Rwenzori area.

According to Kabagambe, the takeover will lead to infrastructural development at the university as it will now be part of the Education Ministry’s budget every year.

“The takeover will do a great deal in supporting research and innovations. The university staff will have their remuneration increased because and it will increase their productivity," Kabagambe said.

“The takeover will open up opportunities for collaborations, partnerships, human resource capacity building and research capacity building among others.”

Dr Kabagambe said the local communities will also directly benefit from the public university because lecturers will be spending and in turn the economy will grow.

The Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal started in 2005 as a private university and has through the years grown.

It currently has a total of 2027 students and 235 staff including academic, administrative and support staff.

The university offers a number of course including Bachelor’s degrees in agricultural, health sciences, midwifery, education, ICT,Public Administration and Business Administration among others.