Uganda, March 19 -- Dear Tingasiga:

Uganda is said to have about 61 degree-awarding institutions. Thirteen are public institutions, forty are private, and eight are narrowly focused, either on military or oil sciences. All of them are called universities, although many probably do not deserve that designation. Whereas there are no internationally accepted uniform criteria for designation as a university, creating an institution of higher learning and declaring it a university does not make it one.

Notwithstanding the lack of universally acceptable criteria for designation as such, there are generally agreed expectations of a real university. At a minimum, a real university is a formally accredited and chartered institution that (1) offe...