Parliamentary committee on ICT commends UICT during oversight visit

30 January 2026, 12:13 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) yesterday hosted the Parliamentary Committee on ICT and National Guidance for an oversight and verification visit at its Kampala campus. The delegation was led by Hon. Tonny Ayoo, who commended the institute for the work being done at the innovation hub.

The visit comes at a time when President Yoweri Museveni has consistently encouraged young people to embrace technology as a key tool for eradicating poverty within their communities. Uganda is also among the countries with sufficient electricity supply, one of the critical requirements for the effective functioning of technology.

The engagement featured a live Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR) demonstration, with simultaneous training sessions conducted for TVET instructors at Ntinda Vocational Training Institute, farmers in Mayuge District, and secondary school teachers. Through AVR, UICT is able to deliver immersive, hands-on training, standardize the quality of instruction across institutions, and scale skills development without a proportional increase in costs.

Members of Parliament also inspected newly established smart classrooms equipped with smart screens, audio-visual conferencing tools, and PTZ cameras. In addition, they toured student innovations incubated at the National ICT Innovation Hub and observed an ongoing children’s robotics workshop.

In his remarks, the UICT Governing Council Chairperson, Dean Munene, urged Members of Parliament to lobby for increased funding to support the institute’s growing needs. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Zawede, was also in attendance.

Speaking during the visit, a UICT official said, “Today, we have received Members of Parliament from the ICT Committee following up on their previous visit, where they interacted with management to better understand how we operate. In the past, we informed the MPs about our needs, and we are aware that ICT is a crucial driver of Uganda’s socio-economic transformation. Currently, we are not only focused on increasing student numbers, but also on improving the quality of skills acquired. We need more support from government because, in many cases, we rely heavily on development partners.”

Members of Parliament pledged to support the institution in its efforts to advance skills development and technological innovation in the country.