“You Are Trained to Create Opportunities”: Inside Kampala University’s Masaka Campus

MASAKA, UGANDA — On Saturdays and Sundays, when much of Masaka slows down, Kampala University’s Masaka Campus comes alive.

Students stream through corridors clutching notebooks while lecturers move between rooms with laptops and lesson plans. Some have traveled from surrounding rural districts; others have come straight from work. For them, the weekend is not a break—it is an intense school day.

Inside a journalism classroom, lecturer Wilson Kutamba turns a standard lesson into an exploration of a profession transformed by technology. A few doors down, Hamida Naluyima leads a Microeconomics class, opening not with definitions, but with questions: “Who can define a need? What is the difference between a need and a want?” These scenes reveal the campus’s core mission: turning access into competence, and competence into opportunity.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Badru Dungu Kateregga summarizes this vision in a direct challenge to learners: “You are trained to create opportunities.” In an economy where a qualification no longer guarantees employment, the crucial test is whether graduates can build meaningful livelihoods with what they have learned.

Established in 2002 in New Kkumbu along the Masaka–Kyotera Road, Masaka Campus was the first private university campus in the region. It was founded to bring higher education closer to civil servants and working professionals in southwestern Uganda.

By bringing higher education closer to local communities, regional campuses eliminate the financial and logistical burden of relocating to Kampala. For working adults, weekend study offers a vital path to upgrade qualifications without forfeiting their jobs.

Today, the campus serves 2,556 students. The majority—1,476 learners—are in-service students using higher education to remain competitive in the workforce, while 1,080 full-time learners prepare for their initial entry into the labor market. Managing this growth rests on campus leadership, led by Director Ibrahim Ssengendo and Campus Administrator Daniel Adaun, who oversee admissions, examinations, student welfare, and campus development.

To prepare students for changing industries, the university emphasizes Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET). Rather than relying on rote memorization, courses incorporate continuous assessment, practical projects, and field internships. Journalism students are taught to navigate digital publishing and fact verification, while economics students learn how local trade and resource scarcity impact regional markets.

Social Work student Harriet Nakachwa notes that practical administrative support is just as important as classroom learning:

Financial accessibility is further supported through participation in the Higher Education Students Financing Scheme (HESFB). Meanwhile, efficient systems—such as issuing transcripts directly on graduation day during the university’s 23rd graduation on April 23, 2026—help smooth the transition from study to employment.

Beyond academics, campus life fosters civic responsibility. During the 2026 Guild elections, Masaka Campus elected Nakabugo Leontina as Guild President alongside Vice

President-Elect Turyahebwa Paul, giving students hands-on leadership experience.

As evening falls, weekend classes conclude and students return home. The lecture halls go quiet, but the core objective remains active: equipping a new generation with the practical skills required to create their own opportunities in a rapidly changing world.