Dear Our Esteemed Stakeholders,
I bring you warm and sincere greetings.
As you may recall, on 1st July 2022, the Government of the Republic of Uganda took over Mountains of the Moon University (MMU), from its private status, and established it as a Public University in the Rwenzori region. Indeed, this followed a Memorandum of Agreement which was signed between the Government of Uganda on one part, and the Board of Trustees of the Mountains of the Moon University and Mountains of the Moon University Limited, on the other part; concerning the takeover of MMU private Chartered University by Government.
In accordance with section 40 (1) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001, as amended, the University Council is stipulated as ‘shall be the supreme organ of the Public University and shall be responsible for the overall administration of the objects and functions of the University. As part of Government commitment, and in order to operationalize the Public University, the Ministry of Education and Sports has put in place a University Council and provided a budget for the University to cover staff wages, non-wage, and some development costs for the Financial Year (FY) 2022/23.
The University Council would like to deeply appreciate and thank the founders of Mountains of the Moon University and all the partners who have supported the University over the last 20 years; specifically, the Government of Uganda, for its decision to support the development of the University Education in the Rwenzori region.
For emphasis, the vision of MMU is to be a ‘Centre of Excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement for sustainable development. In essence, the University has carefully selected its niche in Academic programmes as being, Agriculture, Tourism & Hospitality Management, and Environment and Natural Resources Conservation, geared towards promoting agro-processing, value addition and marketing, tourism management, and innovations for sustainable land use, water resources, forest, and wetlands. By all means, ICT as an enabler to University teaching, learning, and research, has also been added to these sectors of priority. The University Council desires to see technology deployed and utilized widely in all University activities including community engagement.
The MMU mission on the other hand is to produce outstanding, well-rounded, morally upright, and innovative graduates with a knowledge base for making positive impacts on the community. The vision together with the mission of the University shaped the University’s Strategic Plan which has been approved by the National Planning Authority as being compliant with National Development Plan III.
Furthermore, the MMU Strategic Plan sets out the University course for the next five years. The plan responds to national and international developments in tertiary and University education, preparing the University for the future. The plan has four strategic objectives, namely;
- To achieve excellence in teaching and learning,
- To strengthen research, innovation, and partnerships;
- To develop appropriate infrastructure for the University; and
- To strengthen institutional capacity, management, and governance.
The University Council together with its Management pledge to engage with all stakeholders and partners in order to offer strategic leadership that is transparent, objective, and in compliance with the functions of the University Council as stipulated under section 40(2) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act as amended.
On behalf of the University Council, I would like to request and appeal to all our stakeholders, including local governments in the Rwenzori region, the private sector, and development partners, to offer continued support and growth of MMU in line with its vision, mission, and strategic plan. That way, the University will play its rightful role in the national development of Uganda and specifically, its contribution to the quality and employer acceptability of Human Capital Development in Uganda.
As Chairperson of the University Council, I commit to ensuring the realization of these aspirations.
Heights for Progress
For God and my Country.
Eng. Ben MANYINDO (Ph.D.)
Chairperson, MMU University Council