Janet to referee polls after dramatic NCHE power play

The Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Janet Museveni, has summoned vice-chancellors and senates of all public universities at State House to elect their representatives to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) on September 17.
According to a letter written to the VC of one of the universities and seen by Monitor, Ms Museveni said she was informed by the Executive Director of NCHE that the tenure of the representative of vice-chancellors and senates of public universities ended.
She noted that by Section 6A of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act (UOTIA), the minister may issue directions of a policy nature to all institutions of higher learning, whether public or private, and the institutions shall give effect to those directions.
“This is, therefore, to invite you and all members of your university senate to a meeting on Tuesday (today) September 17 at State House Entebbe,” Ms Museveni said.
The purpose of the invitation is to elect a representative of the Vice Chancellors of Public Universities to NCHE, per Section 7(c) of UOTIA, 2001.
These will also elect a representative of the senates of public universities to NCHE in accordance with Section 7(e) of UOTIA, 2001.
The election of the two representatives is very important and timely given the fact that the NCHE is currently operating without a chairperson and vice chairperson.
The terms of Ms Joy Kwesiga (vice-chairperson) and Prof Eli Katunguka (chairperson) have expired.
Ms Museveni’s summonses came a few weeks after the Minister for Higher Education, Mr John Chrysostom Muyingo, halted the contentious elections for university representatives to NCHE.
The minister's action was in response to escalating tensions surrounding the legitimacy of the process for selecting public universities' senate representatives and vice-chancellors to the national council.
The leadership of the Public University Forum had clashed with the NCHE, accusing it of overstepping its role by organising and overseeing the elections of their senate representative, which was scheduled for August 20.
The conflict arose after some vice-chancellors from public universities met at Gulu University on July 25 and reportedly requested that the NCHE manage the election process.
However, the leadership of the Public Universities Forum, including the chairperson, Prof Katunguka, and his vice chairperson, Dr James Nkata, argued that they were not involved in the meeting and did not authorise the NCHE to take charge of the elections.
The situation led to confusion and disagreement within the university community, prompting the Education ministry to intervene to restore order between the two entities.
Background
The power struggles at the NCHE stem from a broader issue that began in January when NCHE head Prof Mary Okwakol rejected the reappointment of Prof Katunguka, the former chairperson, as the senate representative of public universities.
Prof Okwakol argued that the election process used by the public universities to reappoint Prof Katunguka was flawed.
However, the universities contended that the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act does not specify the procedures each constituency should follow in electing their representatives to the Council.
In response, Prof Okwakol wrote to the education minister to protest Prof Katunguka’s reappointment for a second term as NCHE chairperson, citing his lack of membership.
Both President Museveni and Ms Museveni had cleared Prof Katunguka's reappointment as NCHE chairperson in June. However, last month, the President reversed the reappointment and instructed the universities to reappoint their representatives to the National Council, directing the NCHE to submit two names from which he would choose the chairperson.
According to the law, a person can only be appointed or reappointed as chairperson of the National Council if they are a council member. Since Prof Katunguka’s membership was contested, the universities were required to reappoint him or select another candidate.
Public universities were scheduled to meet on August 9 to elect their representative to the council. However, the NCHE’s involvement in overseeing the elections caused divisions within the institutions.
Section 7(e) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act (UOTIA) stipulates that the NCHE shall include, among others, one representative of public universities' Senates, elected from among themselves. The universities are also required to elect vice chancellors' representatives to the NCHE.
It is only after these elections that the NCHE can recommend two names to President Museveni from which he will elect a substantive chairperson. 
Currently, the NCHE does not have a substantive chairperson.
[email protected]