Islamic University In Uganda:
A Success Story of a Muslim
Minority Institution
Opening remarks
 Thank Allah
 Thank IIIT
 Thank founders – OIC & GoU
 Thank Development partners – ISF, IDB, KSA, ..
 All Guests
Introduction
 Universities are the pinnacle of the education
ladder.
 Expected to:
 Teach already available knowledge
 Create new knowledge through research
 Serve the social good.
 Produce graduates who possess human values that
can make them global citizens
 Universities reflect what is happening in
 society generally
Introduction
 On 10/2/1988, that is 2½ decades ago, a new dawn was
ushered in the sector of Higher education in Uganda.
 On that day, ¼ of a century ago, the horizon of University
education in Uganda was extended beyond the reach of
Makerere University.
 It was on that day, 10/2/1988, that Uganda’s 2nd University,
but 1st Private University was born. From that day on both
the history & future of university education in Uganda was
altered.
History
 1974 Lahore Summit
 Purpose: Provide education opportunities for
socio-economic development
 Location: Arivu in Arua District
 1979 - 1986: Period of uncertainty. Location
changed to Mbale in Obote II
 Nov. 26, 1987: Bilateral Agreement between
OIC & GoU signed.
 Joint Committee of OIC & GoU
History …
 Sept 1987 Joint Committee agreed that
Nkoma SS to be taken up.
 GoU to second pioneer staff to start the
University in Dec. 1987.
 Nov. 1987 pioneer staff took over Nkoma
ss & started preparations.
 January
31, 1988: Joint Committee
meeting in Mbale decided to open on 10th
February, 1988. Late Hon. Alhajj Abubaker
Mayanja as acting Rector
History …
 Initial challenges:
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Renovate the facilities
Convert a day school into a boarding university
Decide on what is to be taught, design the
curriculum
Set up teaching-learning facilities – library, books,
Recruit students
Recruit staff
Convince the country & the world that IUIU was
indeed a University.
• Over come internal Muslim contradictions
History …
 Opportunities
 The OIC wanted the University to start
 H.E. the President & his Government
wanted the University to start
 Makerere University could not admit all the
qualified students.
 There were people who were prepared to
sacrifice to get the university moving.
The Beginning
 February 10, 1988
 80 students – all Ugandans
 2 degree programmes –
 BA with Education – 3 years
 BA (Islamic Studies & Arabic Language.) – 4 years
 Is it true?
 Wait and see.
Makerere Model of a University
 Though private, IUIU started like a public
University providing:


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Free education – full board
Free stationery
Transport to and from home district – air tickets
Boom – (Pocket money)
 The curriculum was basically the same as that of
MUK
 IUIU added the moral component – dress code,
No free mixing, emphasis on other human
values, etc
Vision
 The university was envisioned to “be a
centre of excellence in the production and
dissemination
of
knowledge
that
contribute to relevant skills as well as
appropriate training necessary for
production of an all round believing
individual capable of participating fully
in his/her society”.
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Mission
 The university “aspires to function as a highly
academic and cultural institution based on
Islam and love of the country. It aims at
promoting and enhancing the civilization and
scientific influence of Islam and physical world
to produce well-cultured, morally-upright
graduates of sound character, equipped with
useful skills and knowledge, to enable them
participate positively in the development
process of their countries”.
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Wakeup Call
 By 1991, we had started experiencing financial
hardships – realisation that free University education
was not sustainable.
 Internal contradictions were also not absent – leading
to the 1993 crisis. Prof. Haq out & hon. Ali K.K.
appointed acting Rector
 1994 Prof. Mahdi Adamu appointed Rector. Internal
stability but funding was still a problem.
Change Model
 1995 introduced fees – stopped all previous
privileges.
 This pay-as-you-study policy helped to
mitigate some of the financial hardships of the
University but it also created other challenges:
 What happens to the brilliant but poor students?
 How much fees is affordable & enough to enable the
University offer quality education?
Fees not enough
 Soon it was clear that fees alone were not enough to
meet the needs of a University.
 Besides, while the unit cost of education a student at
IUIU at that time was about US$1,500 per year, the
students were paying on about US$ 600! Even then
about 20% of the students would fail to raise the money.
Administrative Challenges
 1995 – 2004:
 unpaid salaries & statutory obligations;
 lack of infrastructural development,
 shortage of basic teaching facilities, etc.
 Strikes,
 court case, etc
Change in Approach
 2004 change in management which adopted a new approach
after reviewing many of the policies that were operating
before then.
 Focus was put on finding ways of more effective financial
management, diversifying sources, & more prudent utilisation
& sharing of the limited available funds.
 Since then, salaries are paid on time, all statutory obligations
met, & improvements in facilities and infrastructures.
Progress since 1988
Current Student Enrollment
Campus
Male
Female
Total
Main
2,538
1,349
3,887
Kampala
1,879
950
2,829
Females’
-
892
892
Arua
153
71
224
Total
4,570
3,262
7,832
The Students come from 21
countries
Four Campuses
1. Main Campus at Mbale – 1988
2. Kampala Campus – 2001
3. Arua Campus - 2007
4. Females Campus – 2008
Location of Campuses
Sudan
3 Arua Campus
Congo
1
Females’4
Campus
Main Campus
Mbale
2 Kampala Campus
Kenya
Tanzania
Rwanda
Academic Programs
• Curriculum – 56 academic programs in 6
faculties (colleges) fully accredited by NCHE,
Law Council, & the Uganda Nurses &
Midwives Council.
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•
•
•
•
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Islamic Studies & Arabic Language
Education – Arts & Science teachers
Arts & Social sciences
Management Studies
Science
Law – Common law & Islamic Law
Academic Programmes
 Centre for Postgraduate Studies –
• MBA,
• MPA,
• M.Ed,
• MA – Sharia, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language,
• MA History,
• MA Peace & Conflict Resolution;
• MSc Zoology,
• MSc Environmental Sciences;
• Ph.D Sharia, Arabic Language, Public
Administration, Economics.
Graduates
Gender
Number
%
Male
6,944
60.92
Females
4,454
39.08
Total
11,398
IUIU Graduates for the Last 11 years
1000
900
800
700
600
MALES
500
FEMALES
400
300
200
100
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Graduates
 Where are the IUIU graduates?
 Public sector
- Ministries
- Parliament
- Local Governments etc.
 Private sector
 Diaspora
 IUIU
 Other Institutions
Staff
 718 staff members
 8 nationalities
 54 on Staff Development Program – 16 of
whom are doing Ph.Ds.
 They are in 13 countries – 4 continents
 Over 70 masters & 30 Ph.Ds completed
under SDP.
 Some visiting academicians
Strategies for Quality Control
 Quality Assurance (QA) Committee headed by the
Vice Rector (Academic Affairs)
 QA Committees at the Faculty level
 Students’ evaluation of academic staff is being
reintroduced.
 External Examiners – Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia,
Tanzania, Kenya.
 External Assessors – ISESCO, Inter-University
Council for East Africa
 Visiting Academics – University of Colorado, Germany
University, UK., Southern Illinois, Cabondale, Mercer
University
Research
 Many of our staff have carried out various research
projects
 Some research awards from World Bank, European
Union, ISESCO & Rockefeller Foundation.
 Research Committee
 Research, Publications and Innovation
 working on a Research Agenda.
Awards
 In November 2010, two of our departments, won the
national “Innovation and Sustainability in Universities’
Award”.
 The Vice Rector in charge of Academic Affairs, won the 2010
Excellent Leadership Award of the Islamic Development
Bank as their former best Merit Scholar for Higher Science
and Technology.
 14th December, 2011, IUIU to be given The Le Matinal
Educational Excellence Awards in Mauritius byThe Africa
- India Partnership Summit
Ongoing major Researches
 Oral Muslim History – funded by ISESCO
 Muslim Education in Uganda – in collaboration with
UMTA.
1st National Conference on Muslim
education was held in 2010 – Major
resolution was the establishment of the
Uganda Muslim Education Fund
 2nd national Conference on Muslim
education was held in July 2013.

Community Service
 Da’awa activities – Juma Programs,
caravans, Career guidance in Schools,
Conventions,
Qur’an
Recitation
competitions, etc
 Immunisation programmes
 Training of Muslim leaders – Lango,
Karamoja, Pallisa, Bugisu, etc
 Needy students’ community program in
Budaka District
IUIU Zakat Fund
 Contributions from staff salaries + 1 outsider
 Scholarships for Needy students –orphans
 Treatment of the sick  Construction of a classroom block at Ongara
Primary school
 Housing for the elderly
 Financial help – Imam, women, low cadre staff
Hajj Programme
 With support from Sultan Al Nahayan
Foundation of UAE, the University has
enabled some staff and members of the
Muslim community to perform Hajj – the
5th Pillar of Islam: These have included
staff, students and some members of the
community
Challenges
1. Shortage of Physical facilities:
Lecture rooms
Staff Houses
Library space
Offices
Sports
Students’ residences
Challenges
2.Finances
• No government contribution to the
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annual budget of IUIU
Limited grants & donations
1 endowment – King Fahd Plaza
Fees contribute about 80% of the
budget
20% of the students fail to raise fees
Few scholarships.
Challenges
3.
Staff Welfare:
• Salaries/allowances not the best
• Inflation
• Statutory obligations reduce the net take home of
staff – We pay about UGX 160 million per month to
government bodies.
• Staff retention is a challenge due to poor pay.
• Attracting bright graduates to teach in Universities is
not easy.
• Can we learn from success stories elsewhere?
4. Challenges from other Universities
 Fundamental Change in the education sector under
the NRM Government. UPE &USE
 31 licensed universities in Uganda:
 5 Government
 5 Businessmen
 20 Faith - based
 1 Islamic University
 Competition for staff.
 Competition for jobs by graduates from the different
universities.
Future Plans
 Consolidate the gains
 Improve financial base –
 More endowments e.g Nsambya Land – Grateful to H.E. the
President
 Mobilise more grants & donations
 Income generating projects
 Find more scholarships
 New programmes in S&T – Medicine,
Engineering, Masters in IT, etc
Conclusion
 Although at the moment there are challenges that we
have not yet overcome, we should not despair.
The fact that IUIU has survived for 2½ decades so
far, we look to the future with a lot of hope and
optimism that things shall be better, insh Allah.
We have made some progress.
“I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who
had no feet.”
 In the last 25 years we have bought some nice shoes,
our legs have become longer, and our feet have
become more stable. We should be able to run as we
go towards the next 25 years touchline.
Conclusion …
 The world is facing many challenges
 What should be our focus amidst all
these?
 Focus on:
 Quality education for our children: “The welfare of a
nation cannot be greater than the education of its
people.” World Bank
 Build strong research capacity
Sufficient Funds are Needed
 Quality education is not cheap. The African countries
must commit the necessary resources required to have
quality education.
“ If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
“ If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can
take it from him.”
Conclusion …
 “What we want to see is the child in pursuit of
knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the
child.”
Bernard Saw
Conclusion
 The World Bank observed that “Poor nations are not
only poor in wealth but are poor in knowledge,”
 President Kennedy observed that “The progress of
our nation cannot be faster than the progress of
our education system.”
 To seek knowledge is a must for every Muslim –
male & female.
 IUIU at 50 must be a centre of academic excellence
that is next to none in Africa. May Allah accept.
Ameen
Some facilities at IUIU
New Lecture Room Block at Mbale
Stalled Projects at the Main Campus
1) Females’ Hostel
 This was started in
2007 to enable the
University admit more
girls then. The
ground floor was
completed and now
accommodates 108
girls. The next two
floors need at least
US$ 230,000 to
complete.
2) Guest House Extension
 This was started in 2006 and
the ground floor was
completed and is being used.
The next two floors need at
least US$ 250,000 to
complete.
IUIU Kampala Campus Project
New Lecture-room and Administrative Block
Females’ Campus Projects
The IDB Funded Students’ Hostel
ii) The Swimming Pool
Thank you