The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has urged government to consider sponsoring master's and PhD students.
Speaking during the launch of The State of Higher Education and Training in Uganda 2013/14 report last week, the NCHE executive director, Prof John Opuda-Asibo, said PhDs are critical since people must teach what they have gone through and beyond, while inspiring others.
“Government stopped sponsoring master’s programmes in 1998. This has created a vacuum; [in] those days both undergraduates and master’s students were few so it was easy but now, the undergraduate numbers are high,” Prof Opuda-Asibo said.
He added that more funds should be allocated to facilitate researchers in the oil and gas sector and industry, among others. The report, commissioned by NCHE, indicates that academic staff numbers have not kept pace with the growth in student enrolment.
“The number of staff holding master’s degrees is 3,793 denoting a slight improvement in numbers from 3,455 in 2012/13. PhDs in 2013/14 improved from 793 to 1, 096,” reads the report.
“PhD holders in academia are not adequate for the existing demand; those who chose to maintain teaching jobs are often shared on part-time basis, leaving no time for research.”
According to the report, there was a slight improvement in staff training from 1,335 in 2012/13 to 1,660 in 2013/14. However, most postgraduate degree holders have either been self-sponsored or gone for external funding, usually from foreign donors.
Last year, the Higher Education Students’ Financing Board (HESFB) asked for an extra Shs 1.5bn from government to give loans to students pursuing PhDs. The request is yet to be honoured.
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