KAMPALA, Uganda — The Association of Graduate Nurses and Midwives of Uganda (AGNMU) has challenged remarks attributed to Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa about the qualification of nurses, saying the comments wrongly portrayed nursing as a low level profession.
In an open letter dated Oct. 21, 2026, and addressed to Tayebwa, the association expressed concern over remarks made in Parliament on Oct. 20 during debate over the leadership of the Department of Pharmacy at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).
According to AGNMU, the nursing qualification was described as “too low to lead a department.” The association said the statement had hurt a profession of more than 100,000 women and men working across Uganda’s health system.
AGNMU said it respects the Office of the Deputy Speaker and was seeking a correction of the parliamentary record rather than attacking the Chair. It also made clear that it was not taking a position on the separate dispute over the respective mandates of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) and the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
The dispute arose after PSU withdrew professional recognition of MUST’s Bachelor of Pharmacy programme on Oct. 19, citing concerns including staffing and the leadership of the pharmacy department.
The society had raised concern that the department was being led in an acting capacity by a non pharmacist, identified as a nurse by profession. The university later appointed Dr. Jonans Tusiimire, a registered pharmacist and Senior Lecturer, as Acting Head of the Department of Pharmacy for three months.
MUST Vice Chancellor Prof. Pauline Byakika Kibwika had explained that the previous Head of Department, an Associate Professor of Pharmacy, resigned earlier in 2026. According to the university, there was no pharmacist at the rank of Senior Lecturer or above available for election to the position at the time.
The university therefore appointed Dr. Esther C. Atukunda to act for a limited period. Atukunda has a Bachelor of Nursing Science from Makerere University, a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Leeds and a PhD from Ghent University. She is also a Senior Lecturer with research experience in areas including pharmacology, pharmacoepidemiology and clinical studies.
The university said she had taught pharmacy students at MUST for more than a decade.
By Oct. 20, MUST had appointed Tusiimire to head the department in an acting capacity while also indicating that it had secured clearance to advertise senior academic positions. NCHE, meanwhile, confirmed that the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme remains accredited.
During the Oct. 20 parliamentary debate, Tayebwa said he had contacted the NCHE Executive Director and was informed that students were studying an accredited programme. He also raised concerns about what appeared to be an overlap between the mandates of PSU and NCHE.
He directed the Minister of Education and Sports to present a comprehensive statement to Parliament, supported by guidance from the Attorney General, on Oct. 22.
AGNMU said its concern was not whether PSU or NCHE should prevail in that dispute. Instead, it wants Parliament to distinguish between questions about professional regulation and the academic qualifications of nurses.
The association cited the Ministry of Public Service Schemes of Service for the Nursing and Midwifery Cadre issued in December 2017. It said the scheme provides a career pathway beginning at certificate and diploma level and extending through Bachelor of Science degrees, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees and doctoral training.
The scheme recognises master’s level training in a range of nursing specialties, including critical care, oncology, trauma and emergency care, public health nursing and neonatal nursing. AGNMU also pointed to provisions encouraging professional advancement through bachelor’s, master’s and PhD education, research, publication and continuous professional development.
The association further argued that senior nursing positions within government already require substantial academic and professional qualifications. It cited the position of Commissioner, Nursing and Midwifery Services, which requires a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, postgraduate training in administration, management or health services management, relevant experience and a valid practising licence.
AGNMU also pointed to the history of university nursing education in Uganda. It said Makerere University began the country’s first degree nursing programme in 1993, marking a shift from nursing education being viewed only through certificate and diploma training to a graduate and postgraduate profession.
The association cited several nurses holding senior academic positions as examples of the progression of the profession.
Among them is Prof. Rose Clarke Nanyonga, a nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a PhD in Nursing, who has served as Vice Chancellor of Clarke International University since 2017. AGNMU also cited Dr. Agnes Kasede Napyo, a nurse with a BSc in Nursing and a PhD who is a Senior Lecturer at Kabale University.
It also referred to Makerere University’s Department of Nursing, which is headed by Associate Professor Dr. Tom Denis Ngabirano, and to the former acting leadership of MUST’s Department of Pharmacy as an example of a nurse with advanced academic qualifications working in a university environment.
A major part of the association’s argument is its interpretation of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001, as amended.
AGNMU argues that the law does not make membership of a particular health profession the primary requirement for heading an academic department in a public university. Instead, it points to Section 54, which provides for the election of a Head of Department by academic staff and sets Senior Lecturer as the minimum academic rank.
On that basis, the association argues that a nurse who holds a doctorate, has attained the rank of Senior Lecturer or above and has the confidence of the academic staff could meet the statutory requirements for departmental headship.
AGNMU acknowledged that the legal position should be confirmed against the current version of the law. It said the copy of the Act available to the association is the 2001 law as amended in 2003 and 2006 and invited the Attorney General to confirm the current text.
The association also referred to previous arguments against discrimination based on professional cadre, including an Equal Opportunities Commission matter involving allied health professionals and a Kenyan High Court case concerning restrictions on nurses holding administrative positions in health institutions.
It further cited international health organisations such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNAIDS, arguing that their leadership is not necessarily restricted to medical doctors.
AGNMU said comments suggesting that nursing qualifications are too low for leadership could affect the morale of nurses and midwives and discourage professionals from pursuing higher academic qualifications.
The association has asked Tayebwa to clarify and withdraw the remark on the floor of Parliament and affirm that nurses and midwives are recognised as graduate and postgraduate professionals.
It also wants a meeting with the Deputy Speaker, consultation with the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council and nurse academics during consideration of the issue, and a review of rules governing leadership in health institutions.
AGNMU said such appointments should be based on merit, academic standing and management training rather than professional cadre alone.
The association’s intervention comes as Parliament prepares to receive the Minister of Education and Sports’ statement on the MUST pharmacy dispute on Oct. 22.
At the centre of the wider dispute is the distinction between professional regulation and university accreditation, as well as who has the authority to determine whether a professional programme and the people delivering it meet the required standards.
For AGNMU, however, the MUST dispute should not become a basis for dismissing the academic standing of nurses as a profession.
The association ended its letter by saying it was seeking dialogue and wanted nurses and midwives to be judged on their qualifications, professional record and competence rather than assumptions about their cadre.
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