The Vice-Chancellor of Soroti University of Science and Technology, Prof. John Robert Ikoja, has urged Parliament to allocate UGX 4.8 billion to facilitate the recruitment of academic and administrative staff for three newly accredited programs set to begin in the upcoming academic year. These programs encompass Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, Finance, Accounting, Computing, and Physiotherapy.
Prof. Ikoja stressed the importance of additional funding, citing the university’s need for an extra UGX 2.4 billion to hire academic staff for teaching in the fourth and fifth years of these programs.
While addressing the parliamentary committee on education and sports, chaired by John Twesigye, Prof. Ikoja outlined the staffing gaps in the new programs. Specifically, Biomedical Laboratory Sciences has 15 vacant positions out of the required 28, Finance, Accounting, and Computing faces a gap of 6 out of 11 positions, and Physiotherapy encounters a vacuum of 17 positions out of the needed 29.
In addition to staff recruitment, the university is seeking UGX 20 billion for the completion of the Anatomy block. Prof. Ikoja emphasized the university’s commitment to fulfilling its mandate of training competent professionals in Applied Sciences. Established in 2019, Soroti University currently offers programs in Medicine, Surgery, Nursing Science, and Engineering in Electronics and Computer Engineering.
