The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has directed Victoria University to immediately halt teaching, assessments and clinical placements for hundreds of Bachelor of Pharmacy students who were admitted beyond the approved quota.

In a letter dated 2 November 2026, the society ordered the university to stop all academic activities for students admitted above the authorised limit of 50 students per year.

According to PSU, Victoria University admitted 364 students for the August/September 2026 intake, more than seven times the approved capacity. Of these, 314 students were enrolled above the official quota.

The society said the university organised the extra students into separate parallel cohorts of about 50 each in an attempt to accommodate the numbers without obtaining the required regulatory approval.

Victoria University had earlier applied to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) seeking permission to increase its annual intake from 50 to 250 students across three intakes. However, PSU and NCHE had not yet conducted the mandatory joint inspection needed before such an increase could be approved. PSU emphasised that a pending application does not constitute approval.

Records further show that between September 2022 and March 2026, the university enrolled 895 pharmacy students across 11 intakes.

PSU has given Victoria University seven days to submit a certified final enrolment list, a signed list of exactly 50 students to be retained for the 2026/27 academic year, and evidence that teaching, fee collection and clinical placements for the excess students have been halted. Failure to comply could lead to the de-recognition of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme.The directive has left hundreds of students and their parents in uncertainty as the university works to respond to the regulator’s demands.