More than 50 universities and degree-awarding institutions in Uganda have adopted the Higher Education Certificate (HEC) programme, with enrolment now exceeding 9,000 students, positioning the country as a regional model for expanding university access.
The development has attracted interest from Zimbabwe, whose officials are in Kampala on a benchmarking mission to study the programme for possible adoption.
The delegation, led by Prof. Fanuel Tagwira, Permanent Secretary in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, said the model offers a critical pathway for students who fail to meet direct university entry requirements.
“We have come to learn from Uganda’s experience in supporting disadvantaged students to access higher education,” Tagwira said, adding that the approach could help address access gaps and low female participation in science-related fields in Zimbabwe.
Introduced around 2016, the HEC programme is a one-year bridging course targeting students who miss the minimum two principal passes at A-Level, a group estimated to make up nearly a third of candidates annually.
According to Cyrus Ssebugenyi, Head of Audit, Monitoring and Compliance at the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the programme has expanded from a handful of institutions to nationwide adoption.
“We now have over 50 institutions offering the programme, with enrolment rising to more than 9,000 students,” he said.
He added that early outcomes show HEC beneficiaries performing competitively with direct-entry students, with some achieving top academic results.
Regulators, however, caution that access remains constrained by funding limitations.
National Council for Higher Education Executive Director Mary Okwakol said many eligible students are unable to enrol due to high tuition costs.
“Institutions charge fees, and many bright students cannot afford them. Existing support only covers a small fraction,” she said.
Okwakol clarified that the programme is not directly run by government but implemented by universities under NCHE standards.
“The council does not run the programme. We develop and enforce standards used by institutions to accredit and deliver it,” Prof Okwakol said.
She called for expanded government and donor support, including dedicated scholarships for vulnerable students.
Tagwira said Zimbabwe also hopes to use the model to increase female participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
“We believe such a model can increase the number of young girls entering sciences, medicine, engineering and related fields,” he said.
He added that findings from the visit will inform policy adjustments in Zimbabwe as the country considers adapting the model to its local context.
The benchmarking mission comes amid growing regional interest in Uganda’s approach to widening higher education access, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds.