Kampala — Uganda should open the doors wider for pharmacy training instead of restricting student numbers on the claim that the country already has enough pharmacists, according to Prof. Lawrence Muganga, Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, Kampala.
Writing in New Vision (National News, 3 November 2026), Prof. Muganga argues that limiting pharmacy places sends the wrong message to young people and holds the country back. He uses the example of a bright student from Mbale who excels in chemistry and biology, is encouraged by teachers and leaders to study science, then is told there is “no space” in pharmacy because officials have decided Uganda has enough pharmacists.
“That is what the argument against pharmacy training at Mbarara University of Science and Technology is really about,” he writes. “It may look like a fight about student numbers and rules. But underneath, it asks a bigger question. Do we want a Uganda that grows talent or a Uganda that holds it back?”
Education as an economic asset
Prof. Muganga stresses that students are not just trainees but economic contributors. A student from Nairobi, Kigali, Juba or Lagos who studies pharmacy in Uganda stays for four or five years, pays fees, rents rooms, eats in local restaurants, uses taxis and shops in markets. When family members visit, they spend in hotels. “Her money does not leave after her graduation; they book hotels. Her money does not leave after her graduation. It flows through our towns month after month, year after year.”
He describes education tourism as one of the best ways a country can earn foreign exchange that never runs out, spreading benefits beyond hotels to ordinary businesses and creating lasting goodwill when graduates return home and speak positively about Uganda.
Mixed messages and outdated thinking
The Vice-Chancellor points to a contradiction in national messaging. For years, leaders have urged young people to study science, learn technology and become the builders of the economy — messages repeated in presidential speeches and secondary-school advice. Yet the same system tells many of them that pharmacy training must be limited.
He rejects the idea that the country should only train for jobs that already exist. “A pharmacy degree from Kampala or Mbarara does not stop working at the border,” he notes. Ugandan pharmacists work in hospitals, drug factories, research labs, government offices and international companies across East Africa and beyond. Many work abroad, send remittances, and later return with skills and networks that strengthen local health systems.
Quality versus quantity
Prof. Muganga acknowledges the importance of standards and patient protection. Professional bodies and regulators exist for a reason, he says. But he insists that protecting standards and expanding opportunity are not opposing goals. Quality, he argues, comes from strict inspections, good teachers, proper labs, enough hospital placements and regulators who apply rules fairly — not from deciding in advance how many young people may try.
“No country should tell its brightest young people that their dreams must stop at the edge of today’s job list,” he writes. “If a university meets the standard, let it train. If it does not, say so clearly and make it fix the problem. That is how rules protect the public. Counting heads does not.”
He adds that history shows no country grew strong by producing fewer professionals in science, technology or medicine. The opposite is true: leaders opened doors, built more schools and labs, and trusted people to find their way.
A simple way forward
Prof. Muganga proposes that universities meeting the required standards should be allowed to train pharmacists in numbers matching their capacity. Regulators should inspect carefully, apply rules fairly and publish findings. Competition between universities, he says, should be welcomed because it improves quality.
He also highlights the broader gains. When Uganda trains a pharmacist who later works in Rwanda, the Gulf or Canada, the country gains remittances, a stronger reputation and, frequently, a skilled professional who returns. “Every one of those outcomes puts Uganda first.”
The piece concludes by returning to the student from Mbale: she is waiting for an answer. “Let us give her the right one.”
The original article appeared in New Vision on 3 November 2026 under the headline “Uganda Needs More Pharmacists.” Prof. Lawrence Muganga is Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, Kampala.
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