CLOSING REMARKS OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE INTER-UNIVERSITY COUNCIL FOR EAST AFRICA (IUCEA) AT THE 1st REGIONAL MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON EAST AFRICAN COMMON HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

MUNYONYO - KAMPALA, 11TH SEPTEMBER


Right Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker, National Parliament, Republic of Uganda
DSG – East African Community, Hon Andrea Ariik Malluette
Hon. Cabinet Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries
Honourable Members of the East African Legislative Assembly here present
Permanent Secretary, Principal Secretary, Under Secretary from EAC Partner States
Government Officials here Present and CEOs of states and Corporates organizations here Present,
Prof Robert Mayon Deng, Chairperson of the IUCEA Executive Committee
Members of the IUCEA Executive Committee
Chairperson of the National Council for Higher Education Uganda, Prof Joy Kwesiga,
Prof Marry Okwakol, Chairperson of the National and regional organizing Committee and Executive Director, NCHE Uganda
Heads of Commissions and Council for Higher Education from EAC Partner States
Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts, Director General, Directors & Principals from IUCEA Member Institutions
Distinguished speakers and presenters
Representatives of professional bodies
Representatives from industry and private sector
Development partners
Distinguished students leaders
Invited Guests and International and Regional Experts
Members of the Regional Organizing Committee
Members of the Local Organizing Committee
The Staff of IUCEA & the National Council for Higher Education, Uganda here present;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Today, marks a day full of joy and a sense of gratitude for a successful 1st Regional Ministerial Conference on Higher Education. When this idea was conceived, it looked far fetched, insurmountable task to accomplish. But here we are today, at the closure of the Conference. What a great achievement.

Our Chief Guest, this 1st Ministerial Conference has demonstrated our collective effort and will to achieve a common higher education, an area that converges in many dimensions from Quality assurance frameworks, accreditation of programmes, teaching and learning, harmonization of qualifications frameworks, desire for mutual recognition of qualifications as a tool to facilitate mobility to the need for harmonization in competencies to ensure that our graduates are relevant and competitive.

The IUCEA will continue to position itself in champion quality of higher education and inculcating the ideas of mobility and integration agenda through higher education.
This Conference has taken stock of the major milestones on the initiative of the Common Higher Education Area, reflecting on the gains and challenges and repositioning ourselves for the future innovations, and forces that have shaped and continue to shape the higher education landscape in the region.

Our chief Guest, Distinguished participants
I wish to appreciate and thank:
1.The Government of the Republic of Uganda: your warmth, generosity, and impeccable organization have turned Kampala into the beating heart of East African higher education this week. Your leadership, from His Excellency President Museveni downwards, has shown what true regional stewardship looks like. Thank you for saying “yes” when we needed a home for this bold idea.
2.The EAC Partner States, thank you for your unwavering commitment, for sending your best minds and highest representatives, and for turning dialogue into decisions. Your presence here is a powerful signal: higher education is no longer a national agenda , it is a regional imperative.
3.The IUCEA member universities and other higher learning institutions and higher education stakeholders and partners for your continued and enabling support and participation to this conference
4.And now, in a very, very special way, I wish to thank two pillars of this journey:
a.Professor Mary Okwakol, our indefatigable sister, scholar, and leader and to all the Heads of Councils and Commissions for Higher Education across the region, your vision birthed this conference. Your persistence nurtured it. Your leadership brought it to life. You are the architects of convergence and East Africa salutes you!
b.The regional organizing committee made up of all members of the partner states, the Local Organizing Committee driven by Prof. Mary Okwakol, the Executive Director of NCHE – Uganda and the different departments from Republic of Uganda, Health, Security, Police, Transport, Immigration, Protocol for a job well done. Thank you very much.
c.The core IUCEA engine room that made this miracle happen: To Dr. Ayine Robert and To Professor Michael Mawa your intellectual depth, strategic foresight, calm under pressure and quiet dedication shaped the soul of this conference. You both gave your time, energy, brain, heart, and soul. We owe you more than applause. Thank you very much


Our chief Guest,
As I stand here just a few weeks away from transitioning to my new assignment at the African Union Commission in the very same noble sector of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation; my heart is full. Full of memories. Full of pride. Full of gratitude.
For four years and six beautiful months, I have had the profound privilege of serving this great institution IUCEA and through it, serving you, our cherished stakeholders. Every policy drafted, every framework harmonized, every student exchanged, every qualification recognized, you were there with us. You believed in us. You pushed us. You partnered with us.
And so, on this deeply personal note, allow me to say:
1.Thank you, Ministers for your trust and bold mandates.
2.Thank you, Permanent Secretaries for your guidance and steady hands. Thank you, Members of the IUCEA Executive Committee for your wisdom and unwavering support. Thank you, Councils and Commissions for being our compass and conscience.
3.Thank you, Development Partners for walking with us, even when the path was steep.
4.Thank you, Rectors and Vice Chancellors for turning vision into campus reality.
5.Thank you, People of Uganda — for your smiles, your hospitality, your generosity.
6.And thank you, my beloved IUCEA staff, you are not my team. You are my family. Without you, my star would have faded long ago.

Our chief Guest,
This conference has taken stock of milestones, challenges, and innovations. But more than that, it has reignited a fire. A fire to build a truly Common Higher Education Area where quality assurance is seamless, where qualifications are mutually recognized, where students move as freely as ideas, and where our graduates are not just unstoppable.
I beleive IUCEA will continue to champion this cause as the heartbeat of regional academic integration to push boundaries, to break silos and turn frameworks into futures.
And as I prepare to serve at continental level, let me assure you: I am not leaving EAC. I am expanding my service to you. The mission remains the same. The passion burns brighter.
To our Chief Guest thank you for honoring us with your presence today. Your leadership inspires us to aim higher.
To every delegate thank you for your time, your energy, your brilliant minds, and your joyful spirits. These three days felt like three hours because when purpose meets passion, time dances!

Professor Gaspard Banyankimbona
Executive Secretary- IUCEA