National council for higher education has officially signed a memorandum of association with the Uganda institute of professional engineers and the engineers registration board aimed at enforcing the highest level of quality courses offered by tertiary institutions in the country through accreditation.
Speaking to
the media today after the signing of the pact, the director quality assurance
at the council, Pamela Tibilikirra Kalyegira says, the tripartite MOU will
facilitate the accreditation of engineering programmes in Uganda as per the
section 5D of universities and tertiary institutions Act.
Pamela further
says, the parties are obliged to jointly inspect and development, monitoring,
verify of institution facilities for purse of accrediting the programmes among
other obligation geared towards improving the quality of engineering
programmes.
However, the
vice chairperson, engineers registration board, Eng. Henry Francis Okinyol and
the president, Uganda institution of professional engineers, Eng.Fredrick
Kiwanuka says, this is one of the steps to see that people go under proper
training in the hands of well trained enginners.
The add that
this will then scale down on the number of quack engineers who have led to loss
of lives and property.
Meanwhile,
the parties are cautioning parents and students not to go to universities and
institutions which have not be accredited to offer the engineering courses,
otherwise their papers will hold not substance after the course.
Currently Uganda
has 1200 registered professional
engineers against 20,000 trained
engineers.
Uganda has
for years experienced collapse of buildings under construction and professional
engineers always attribute it to quack engineers employed by site owners as a
means sometimes to minimize resources.
END