Ugandan students based in Egypt arrive home
Jul 11, 2013
Government-sponsored students have started arriving home from Egypt, where over 300 of their counterparts, sponsored by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC), are still stranded as the situation remains fragile.
By Pascal Kwesiga and Norman Katende
Government-sponsored students have started arriving home from Egypt, where over 300 of their counterparts, sponsored by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC), are still stranded as the situation remains fragile.
The Government and UMSC do not pay for the return tickets of the students they sponsor in the north-east African country except during emergency situations.
Under the sponsorship arrangement, the Government and UMSC only pay tuition and monthly allowances to students during holidays so that they do not have to come back home save for those whose parents can pay for return tickets before the end of the academic year.
Officials from the Ministry of Education said the finance ministry released sh100m with instructions from the Prime Minister to secure return tickets for 45 students from Egypt.
This comes as members of the Muslim Brotherhood behind the protests in Egypt that have so far left over 50 people dead refused to join a cabinet being formed by the interim government.
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Ugandan students based in Egypt upon their arrival at Entebbe Airport yesterday
A total of 22 government sponsored students arrived at Entebbe Airport at around 2:00pm aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight. Another batch of 23 students is expected home today. The students were studying at Arab academy, Alexandria and Azhar universities.
The students said they locked themselves in their hostel rooms since the uprising began on June 30 up to July 4, when Morsi was toppled following days of street protests.
Mutumba Nsereko, the UMSC spokesperson, said their students were safe at Azhar University. He, however, said they had ordered the students to remain at the university until normalcy returns.
Immaculate Nabwire, a student of commerce at Cairo University, said: “I and my three colleagues have been locked in our hostel rooms since the uprising started. Before it started, the embassy (Uganda) told us to store enough food in our hostels.”