Developing and sustaining effective governance of universities in Uganda

Abstract

The study critically examines developing and sustaining effective governance of universities in Uganda and the extent to which effective governance has contributed to university management. The specific objectives of the study were to; identify obstacles met in implementing measures of effective governance, identify and describe the steps taken in developing and sustaining effective governance in Ugandan universities, and to develop a governance model suitable for Ugandan universities. A mixed research methodology utilising both quantitative and qualitative research paradigms was employed to gather data for this study. The study covered five purposely selected universities in Uganda. Survey questionnaires were administered to vice-chancellors, board members, registrar, deans, heads of department, academic staff and students. Semi-structured interviews also were conducted. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS while qualitative data was organised into different categories. The following salient findings emerged from the study; the findings presuppose that the universities are governed by boards that are competent and the governance environment was conducive. The governance structures indicate good university governance and the response showed that there were good structures of management in university governance Other findings indicated that Ugandan universities are faced with many obstacles which are limiting the effective governance. It was also indicated that the quality of risk management and internal controls in universities were high. The conclusion indicated that universities were continuously given more pressure by the government, public employers, politicians, and interested organisations. As a benchmark, university performance was seen as an important factor to justify the relevant functions performed by both public and private universities. It was recommended that Ugandan higher education needs improvement in the governance of universities to reduce the challenges faced. This could be initiated not through incremental change but more importantly through the governance renaissance where by the universities can be provided with a greater leeway in their functions to sustain effective governance.