Facilities management and quality of teaching and learning in public universities in Uganda :

Abstract

The issue of quality of teaching and learning in the Education sector, particularly in higher education has been a concern to many stakeholders given its importance in fulfilling the goals of Uganda's vision. 2040. This study therefore sought to find. out the relationship between facilities management and the quality of teaching and learning in public universities in Uganda, the case of Busitema University. The stage theory higher education development by Martin Trow (1972) was used to explain this relationshi1L The- study specifically assessed the quality of teaching and. learning, examined the effectiveness of facilities management, sought to determine the predictive effect of facilities management on the quality of teaching and learning and examined the challenges faced in facilities management at. Busitema University. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design on a sample of 201 respondents. Data. was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and an interview guide. Data was analysed using descriptive, correlation and regression analysis, The findings revealed that: the quality of teaching and learning was good with a M = 47.5 and SD 7.45, facilities management in the university was good with a M 40.3 and SD 672, facilities management had a significant relationship with the quality of teaching and learning (r=0.577, p<0.05) with (R2 =0.333) and that several challenges affected facilities management which included limited funding, questionable staff, unaffordable maintenance costs, delayed response to facilities management among other challenges . It was concluded that the quality of teaching and learning at Busitema. University was- good, the management of facilities was good, and facilities management was a pre-requisite for quality of teaching and learning and facilities management faced several challenges, It was recommended that managers of universities should; make effort to provide sufficient learning space and private rooms for discussions to promote the quality of teaching and learning, ensure the procurement of appropriate resources and proper installation of facilities to promote the quality of teaching and learning and should work extremely hard to raise more funding, train staff, have a facilities maintenance plan. and policies to improve quality of teaching and learning. Key words: Facilities Management; Quality of teaching and learning; Massification of HE