NILE UNIVERSITY SEEKS NEW VICE-CHANCELLOR TO LEAD EXPANSION AND ELEVATE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN WEST NILE

Nile University main campus compound photo taken during a media visit at the institution by Radio Pacis in Ombaci Cell, Ayivu Division, Arua City (Photo by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Nile University management council has formed a search committee to recruit a new vice-chancellor following the resignation of the previous vice chancellor. This committee is tasked with advertising the vacancy, vetting applicants, and selecting the most qualified academic leader to guide the university’s future.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Rev. Fr. Salvatore Adraba announced this development to Radio Pacis, while emphasizing the university’s operational status.

“The university council has instituted a search community for vice chancellor, they have already got more than three people who are currently been consulted and will be subjected to some procedures and pick the best to run the institution on behalf of the people of West Nile region” he said.

Nile University is an accredited, community-based private university rooted in the missionary vision of St. Daniel Comboni from the 1860s, who aimed to “Save Africa with Africans.” The university officially opened its doors to students on September 24, 2003. It is situated in Ombaci Village, approximately 8 kilometers northeast of Arua City, along the Arua-Moyo Road. Fr. Adraba urged regional residents to change any negative perceptions about the university and support its growth.

“In regards to the general operations of Nile University there are some people who have disconnected information about the institution, many believe that the institution is owned by an individual or by the management council which is totally wrong and Nile University is a university established by the people of West Nile, it’s today everyone should know that the university is owned by a region” he added.

The university was established to address regional structural and socio-economic challenges by providing a practical academic environment. To bridge academic gaps, all students complete a foundational year focusing on English, Mathematics, Computer Studies, and Ethics. Its academic programs are organized into three faculties: Agriculture, Business Administration and Management, and Education.

On February 20, 2018, Nile University was officially licensed as an independent private university by Uganda’s National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), diverging from its prior affiliation with Uganda Martyrs University. As a private institution, Nile University’s executive leadership recruitment and timelines are managed directly by the University Council and the search committee, rather than through public civil service portals.

The search committee’s goal is to identify and vet a competent, permanent Vice-Chancellor—preferably a professor holding a doctoral degree—to succeed the current leadership and oversee the university’s expansion from its temporary campus in Ombaci to a permanent site in Maracha District. Since the university is community-backed and licensed by NCHE, internal vetting schedules, application deadlines, and shortlisting are strictly managed by the Office of the University Secretary and the Human Resource Administrator.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis