Wakilii

Taremwa & Another v Bank of Uganda & Another (Miscellaneous Cause 173 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 49 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judicial review application challenging the classification of foreign degrees by the National Council for Higher Education and exclusion from Bank of Uganda recruitment process
Decision
Application dismissed; applicants remain excluded from Bank of Uganda recruitment process

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the judicial review application challenging the National Council for Higher Education's reclassification of foreign degrees. The court held that NCHE acted within its statutory mandate under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act Cap 262 to determine equivalence of foreign qualifications by applying the prescribed grading system and mathematical computation of marks, not the generic grading systems of foreign institutions. The equating process was lawful, rational and not ultra vires.

Outcome

Application dismissed; applicants remain excluded from Bank of Uganda recruitment process

Facts

The applicants applied for Banking Officer II positions at Bank of Uganda advertised on 18 March 2024 requiring a first class or upper second class degree. The 1st applicant held a Second Class Upper Division Bachelor of Commerce from Strathmore University Kenya; the 2nd applicant held a First Class Honours Bachelor of Arts in International Business Management from Coventry University UK. Both were shortlisted and passed aptitude tests. Bank of Uganda then required letters of equivalence and classification from NCHE. NCHE equated the 1st applicant's degree to CGPA 3.25 (Second Class Lower) and the 2nd applicant's degree to CGPA 3.5 (Second Class Lower) based on Ugandan grading standards. Bank of Uganda subsequently excluded the applicants from the recruitment process for not meeting minimum requirements. The applicants sought judicial review arguing the reclassification and exclusion were ultra vires, irrational and irregular.

Issues

  1. Whether the application is amenable for judicial review against the 1st respondent.
  2. Whether the 1st respondent's requirement for the applicants to furnish a letter of equivalence and classification from the 2nd respondent was illegal, ultra vires, irrational and procedurally irregular.
  3. Whether the 1st respondent's requirement to furnish a letter of equivalence and classification constituted a decision subject to judicial review.
  4. Whether the 2nd respondent's action and decision of equating and classifying the 1st applicant's 2nd class upper degree from Strathmore University Kenya as a 2nd Class Lower Division degree was ultra vires, irrational and irregular.
  5. Whether the 2nd respondent's actions and decisions of equating and classifying the 2nd applicant's 1st class Honours degree from Coventry University UK to a second class Lower Division degree was ultra vires, illegal, irrational and irregular.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Amenability — Public Functions — Recruitment Decisions
Employment decisions of public bodies made in their capacity as employers under private law are not amenable to judicial review even where the employer is a statutory body exercising public functions in other respects.
Illegality — Ultra Vires — Statutory Mandate — Equivalence of Foreign Qualifications
The National Council for Higher Education acts within its statutory mandate under section 4(l) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act Cap 262 when it determines the equivalence of academic qualifications obtained outside Uganda with those awarded by Ugandan institutions.
Rationality — Degree Classification — Regulatory Compliance and Mathematical Computation
The equating and classification of foreign academic qualifications by the National Council for Higher Education is an objective process guided by regulatory compliance requirements and mathematical computation of marks obtained by students in accordance with the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions (Grading and Classification of Undergraduate Degrees and Diplomas) Regulations 2015, not the generic grading systems used by foreign awarding institutions.
Natural Justice — Fair Hearing — Statutory Process for Degree Equivalence
The mandate of the National Council for Higher Education to equate degree qualifications does not require conducting a hearing before determining equivalence, as the process is guided by statutory provisions and regulations prescribing the procedure for equating and grading degrees obtained elsewhere.

Legislation cited (13)

Cases cited (2)

  • Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service
  • Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa & Another: In Re Ex Parte President of the Republic of South Africa & Others 2000 (2) SA 674(CC)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Taremwa & Another v Bank of Uganda & Another (Miscellaneous Cause 173 of 2024) [2025] UGHCCD 49 (26 February 2025)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.