EASTERN PROVINCE

NGOMA – The Rector of the University of Agriculture, Technology and Education (UNATEK) has said their full accreditation could be delayed due to lack of title deeds for the land they occupy.

Started in 2003, UNATEK has up to now not officially obtained the land on which it is operating. Title deeds for land on which an institution is built is one of the requirements before the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), grants full accreditation.

In an interview with The New Times, Father Dominique Karekezi the Rector said that operating on land which they have not successfully received title deeds for may delay the institute’s  accreditation. The land currently belongs to the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Officials of NCHE recently paid a three-day visit to the university to assess its status.

Karekezi said that the council was impressed by the progress made by the university.

"We appeal to the concerned ministry to speed up the process so that the university can continue with its quest for land acquisition,” he added.

Close to 1,000 students have completed their studies in this university since its inception but they are yet to graduate, after it is  fully accredited.

Karekezi said that the accreditation should be speeded up so that those students who completed their studies can graduate.

"So many students who completed their studies have failed to get jobs because they don’t have academic credentials which only come in through accreditation, ”he added. The university  now has over 3,500 students.

Meanwhile, the university is in the process of establishing a third Faculty of Economic Management. Also to be introduced under the faculty of agriculture is a department of irrigation drainage and elementary technology.

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