Ugandan Government steps in to resolve students’ certificate row

The Ugandan State Minister for Sports, Peter Ogwang has told the National Assembly that majority of former students at Saint Stephen Nursery Teachers’ College have received their academic documents from Ndejje University.

According to the state minister, the Ndejje University of Kampala has also processed 50 certificates and transcripts that are pending verification and collection, whereas some documents have not been printed due to outstanding information yet to be submitted by the Teachers’ College.

Presenting a statement to the Parliament on Tuesday, 11 August 2026 on allegations regarding withholding of transcripts and certificates, the Ugandan State Minister said his interaction with Ndejje University revealed that the College accumulated significant arrears, leading to delays in processing academic documents.

“A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two institutions indicates that Saint Stephen Nursery Teachers’ College of Lira, was responsible for remitting students’ tuition to the University. Ndejje management states that it has engaged SSNTC on several occasions to recover the outstanding funds and facilitate release of students’ academic records,” said Ogwang.

The Minister’s statement follows a directive by the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa previously on 05 August 2026, requiring the Minister to intervene in the matter involving the delayed release of the transcripts and certificates.

This came after a presentation of a petition by legislator Eunice Otuko (UPC, Oyam County North) on behalf of Ms. Tamali Okao, the former Director of St. Stephen Nursery Teachers’ College in Lira, who stated that 102 students who completed their studies between 2017 and 2022 under Ndejje University had not received their academic documents.

The petitioner had called on Parliament to compel the university to release the academic documents without further delay and establish an inquiry into similar cases affecting other students.

Minister Ogwang said that the University revealed inconsistencies in figures by Saint Stephen Nursery Teachers’ College which complicated verification of the exact number of affected students and outstanding academic documents required for processing.

The Minister noted that Ndejje University is committed to resolving all outstanding cases and complying with its statutory obligations.

“I want to implore my colleague to follow up this matter with me so that we can solve it administratively once and for all, if there are other students who have not received their documents,” Ogwang said in reference to Hon. Otuko, who presented the petition on behalf of former students of SSNTC.