Nkumba University started as a kindergarten with 12 students

No one could have possibly imagined half a century ago that a humble kindergarten whose roof was once blown off in a night storm would today stand as an eminent chartered University.

Nkumba University which is located 27km on Kampala-Entebbe highway began as a kindergarten on February 6, 1952 with just twelve pupils in a compound of a local chief.

A year earlier, one Ssalongo Erisa Kintu had mooted the idea of a kindergarten because he was concerned by the inability of children at tender ages footing distances from Abayita-Ababiri to attend either Chadwick Primary School in Entebbe Town or Kisubi Primary School.

In his book, Nkumba University’s Evolution and Development, Prince Besueri Mulondo states: “In 1955 the school had grown to a full primary school.”

By the late 1960s, having surmounted significant financial and other challenges, the school had transformed and established as Nkumba Secondary School.

In 1969, the secondary school embraced vocational training, starting with the introduction of secretarial studies to the school curriculum. The School name was then changed to Nkumba Secondary Modern.

Accounting courses were added later. This saw the institution evolve into Nkumba College of Commerce and Advanced Studies.

The College of Commerce based its academic offers on the East African Examinations for Business Studies. These examinations would enable the graduates to compete for jobs anywhere in East Africa.

In 1994, through the prodigious and highly effective efforts of Prof. William Senteza Kajubi (R.I.P), Nkumba College of Commerce and Secretarial Studies evolved into Nkumba University.

Prof. Kajubi become the first Vice Chancellor of Nkumba University and his great achievements are highly treasured and cherished by the University. Under his leaderships, Nkumba university was granted a Charter in 2006.This is to mention but a few.

After his retirement in 2008, The first Mathematics Professor in East and Central Africa, Prof. Paul Edward T Mugambi took over as the second Vice Chancellor.

Today, the third Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hannington Sengendo is still keeping the candle of academic excellence burning by emphasizing the university mission which is to instill; Confidence, Competence, Creativity and Character in students so as to produce informed graduates who think critically, communicate effectively and act responsibly in an increasingly competitive national and global environment.

Nkumba university has since grown from 12 students to a current student population of 7,000 studying different courses leading to the award of Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Postgraduate qualifications.

Nkumba University Courses fall under the six Schools which include: School of Business Administration; School of Education, Humanities and Sciences; School of Law and Institute of Criminal Justice; School of Industrial, Commercial Art and Design; and School of Sciences.

• The School of Law is the only one of its kind in the region offering programmes leading to the award of Bachelor of Criminal Justice as well as Diplomas in Criminal Justice. These are new programmes suitable for members of the public as well as the Armed Forces such as the Police, Prisons and the Army.
• The School of Sciences, which was until mid 2011 the School of Hospitality and Environment Sciences, was transformed accordingly in order to additionally teach Applied Sciences such as Biological and Health sciences, which is in line with government efforts to popularize Science and Technology Innovation (STI).
• Nkumba University through the School of Social Sciences has established a Women’s Health Centre, which is a community outreach programme offering reproductive health services for mothers and children. The outreach programme additionally operates, through its business unit, a micro-finance loan scheme with over 500 beneficiaries in Wakiso District. The School of Social Sciences is now offering the Diploma in HIV/AIDS Education and Management, which is conducted in collaboration with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) Uganda. In 2002 Nkumba University was indeed the first higher institution of learning in the great lakes region to develop an institutional HIV/AIDS policy to guide and regulate its relationship with staff, students and the community.
• The School of Social Sciences has since 2008 successfully conducted the Uganda Parliamentary Research Internship Programme in collaboration with the State University of New York (SUNY) and USAID.

With a support staff of 400, Nkumba university has more than academics to show off.