By Ben Musanje
Parliament has renewed pressure on President Yoweri Museveni’s government to fast-track the establishment of a public university in Bunyoro, saying the continued absence of a government university in the sub-region is undermining access to higher education and limiting the region’s ability to develop the skills needed for its growing economy.
The call is contained in a motion seeking Parliament’s resolution to have the Government expedite the establishment of Bunyoro Public University, with legislators arguing that the institution is critical to achieving regional equity, developing human capital and preparing young people to participate meaningfully in Uganda’s oil and gas sector.
The motion is being championed by Bunyoro legislators, led by Asinansi Nyakato, the Woman Representative for Hoima City, who is listed as the mover of the motion.
She was seconded by Patrick Mwesigwa, Member of Parliament for Hoima East Division, and another Hoima legislator, according to the motion presented to Parliament.
The legislators argue that establishing the university would address a longstanding imbalance in access to public higher education.
They point out that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government has publicly committed since 2001 to establishing a public university in Bunyoro, but the promise has yet to translate into a functioning institution.
According to the motion, the Government has already taken steps towards the establishment of the university.
A steering committee or university task force was established by the Ministry of Education and Sports in 2022 to undertake preliminary documentation and programming, develop a university master plan, prepare academic programmes and policies, and acquire land.
The motion further states that groundbreaking activities took place in Kikuube District in March 2025.
However, MPs say the project has stalled despite budgetary allocations.
They cite approximately Shs14 billion allocated in the 2025/26 financial year, arguing that no tangible construction works had commenced on the ground despite the release of funds.
The legislators are therefore demanding greater accountability over the money already committed to the project.
They want the Government, through the Ministry of Education and Sports, to explain how funds released towards the establishment of Bunyoro Public University have been utilised.
The motion also calls for the Government to provide a clear roadmap for completing the process and to establish a specific budget vote for the university.
The MPs are basing their argument partly on the Government’s long-term development plans.
They cite Uganda Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan for 2025/26 to 2029/30, both of which identify education as a critical pillar for socioeconomic transformation, human capital development, science, technology and innovation, and industrialization.
The plans, the legislators argue, place emphasis on expanding higher education infrastructure in underserved sub-regions, including Bunyoro, Busoga and Karamoja.
Bunyoro’s population, according to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, stands at 2,792,123 people, making it one of the country’s significant population centres.
Yet the motion says only 3.4 percent of the population aged 10 years and above in the sub-region has attained both higher and tertiary education.
MPs contend that the figures demonstrate the scale of the education gap facing the region.
Bunyoro also hosts communities around Hoima City, Hoima, Kakumiro, Masindi, Kibale, Kiryandongo, Buliisa, Kikuube and Kagadi districts, as well as Masindi Municipality.
The region also draws learners from neighbouring areas, including Kiboga, Kyankwanzi and Mubende, meaning a public university would serve a catchment area extending beyond the immediate Bunyoro sub-region.
The absence of a public university, MPs argue, has become increasingly difficult to justify because most other sub-regions have access to public and private universities.
They say the imbalance limits opportunities for young people who cannot afford to travel or pay the costs associated with studying at universities outside the region.
The issue has also gained importance because of Bunyoro’s emerging role in Uganda’s oil and gas industry.
The region is at the centre of the country’s petroleum development, but MPs say the absence of a public university is limiting the ability of local communities to acquire the qualifications and technical skills required to benefit from the sector.
They argue that the university would provide opportunities for skills development and qualification attainment, enabling more people from Bunyoro to participate in oil and gas, industrialisation and broader economic transformation.
The legislators say the university should therefore not be viewed merely as an education project but as part of the country’s broader development strategy.
They want Parliament to formally urge the Government to use the legal framework provided under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act to establish the institution.
Section 22 of the Act provides for the establishment of a public university through a statutory instrument by the responsible minister, following a recommendation from the National Council for Higher Education and a resolution of Parliament.
The motion asks the Government to table the statutory instrument before Parliament and complete the necessary legal processes.
Once gazetted, the law provides for the National Council for Higher Education to register the university within 30 days and for a University Council to be constituted within six months of its establishment.
For Bunyoro leaders, the argument is that the legal framework already exists and that the remaining challenge is for Government to demonstrate political and financial commitment to completing the process.
The MPs are therefore calling for immediate action rather than another prolonged planning phase.
They argue that establishing Bunyoro Public University would promote regional equity, strengthen human capital and help ensure that communities in the oil-rich sub-region are equipped to participate in the economic opportunities arising from petroleum development.
The motion places the responsibility squarely on the Government to translate its longstanding commitment into a functioning institution.
It also signals growing parliamentary pressure for accountability over funds allocated to the project, particularly as Bunyoro awaits the promised university while demand for higher education continues to rise.
The legislators maintain that fast-tracking the university would not only fulfil a longstanding government commitment but also advance Uganda’s Vision 2040 ambition of using education, skills development and industrialization to transform the economy. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
