Big Interview: Uganda Faces Critical Shortage of Professors, Kyambogo Vice Chancellor Warns

What the report says

Nile Post reports that Kyambogo University Vice Chancellor Prof. Eli Katunguka Rwakishaya has warned that Uganda has too few professors and PhD holders to meet the country’s research, innovation and development needs. In a published interview, he said the shortage is not confined to Kyambogo but reflects a national higher education challenge, especially as universities try to build the academic capacity needed for a knowledge-based economy.

Katunguka said Kyambogo recently promoted 44 academic staff after struggling to attract senior academics through open recruitment. According to the report, the promotions included three professors, raising the university’s total to about five, and eight associate professors, bringing that group to around 22. He linked the limited pool of senior academics to the high cost of postgraduate study, scarce scholarships, weak funding for research, and a lack of experienced PhD supervisors.

The vice chancellor also pointed to retention problems, saying PhD holders in fields such as engineering, science and technology can often earn more through private-sector work or consultancy than they receive in universities. Nile Post further reports that he expressed concern that politics is increasingly seen by some educated Ugandans as a faster path to financial success than academia or research.

Katunguka called for a national scholarship programme for master’s and doctoral training, particularly in science, engineering and mathematics, alongside better pay and incentives for academic staff. He said recent salary increases for public university teaching staff had helped morale, with professors earning about Shs15.6 million gross monthly, but argued that taxes, private-sector competition and inadequate retirement support remain major concerns.