CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

management processes leading to increased efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and
accountability in the target institutions. 55
The goal of CEMAS is to establish a reliable, robust, and high-performing integrated financial
and education management system in public universities and self-accounting tertiary
institutions in Uganda. When fully implemented, CEMAS will (a) enable real-time access to
reliable information for decision making; (b) streamline business process and control; (c) be
deployed as the main system for educational management and accounting; and (d) harmonise
reporting by all public universities and self-accounting tertiary institutions. Although originally
conceived from a financial management review, the system has been upgraded to address the
need for qualitative financial and non-financial management Information, turning CEMAS into
a holistic management information system. 56
CEMAS has a robust interface that links the offices of the academic registrars in the target
institutions and, when fully implemented, will provide accurate, real-time student information
at the click of the mouse, from application and registration to examination scheduling,
timetabling, and grading, to alumni affairs. In addition, the system is designed to have a
number of access portals for the various stakeholders, namely students, parents, alumni, and
the public.
The key benefits of CEMAS will include (a) quality and timely reporting, (b) improved financial
and education management for public universities and self-accounting tertiary institutions, (c)
standardisation of processes and reporting across public universities and other tertiary
institutions, and (d) improved exchange of information amongst public higher education
institutions and other stakeholders. Although belated, CEMAS is a measure in the right
direction. Its shortcoming, however, is its exclusive application to public higher education
institutions. In its current form, it will not capture data from the private institutions that have
become the most numerous and the most vibrant portion of the higher education sector in
Uganda, and the largest contributors to higher education exports.
Success Stories in Exporting Education Services from Uganda
This section provides a summary of the situation of the major Ugandan universities, both public
and private, with regard to educational profile and position with respect to enrolment of foreign
students and policies in this regard. Eight universities are profiled as well as a few colleges and
schools within them. Information is based on interviews and publicly available sources.
55
MFPED, Accountant General’s Office. Report of the Task Force on the Review of Financial Management in
Public Universities, 2009.
56
Ibid.
326