MUK | GOVERNMENT | FEEDING | STUDENTS

Makerere University has asked the government to increase the feeding budget for each student to at least sh10,000.

The university managers are concerned that the sh4,500 government budget for each government-sponsored student as an allowance for breakfast, lunch, and supper is too little given the high cost of living.

The Makerere University secretary, Yusuf Kiranda, said they had suggested to the government through various correspondences to increase the budget for feeding each student to at least sh10,000.

The university is also seeking an additional budget of sh100b to renovate its dilapidated halls of residence.

Appearing before Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) last week, Makerere University managers said the renovation of the halls of residence was long overdue.

Kiranda told the committee that the halls needed to be renovated as soon as possible.
He said President Yoweri Museveni recently wrote to the finance ministry to avail the funds for the renovations, but the latter had yet to do so.

Makerere has petitioned Parliament to ensure their budget for travel abroad and seminars are reinstated.

“The travels abroad are for various academic purposes, such as to facilitate external examiners, aid research, and seminars for graduate students when they are presenting their studies. Unlike other government entities, these are core activities for universities,” Kiranda explained.

The team of managers also suggested the need for the government to either start a scholarship scheme to sponsor students for graduate training (masters’ degrees and above) or put in place a loan scheme for such categories.

Kiranda argued that it was through such interventions that the country’s enrolment rate for graduate students would significantly improve.

Tororo woman MP Sarah Opendi admonished the university managers for always carrying out the harsh punishment of expelling students, which jeopardizes their future.

She passionately expressed concern over an incident that happened 27 years ago, in which the university management expelled a medical student identified as Steven Renny Galogitho for participating in a demonstration that was held to fight for the interests of students.

Woman Mp Tororo And Chairperson Uwopa Sarah Opendi On The Floor Of Parliament During Plenary At Parliament On March 30, 2022 (1)

“He is a very brilliant man, and that expulsion messed him up." You denied the country the doctor he would have become, yet our country has few doctors. I appeal to you to invite him and do something for him,” she said.

On the meager feeding budget, Opendi said: “It is a shame that my government can provide only sh1,500 for a meal." I do not know whether they are planning to go to Kikomando. What can a university student do with only sh4,500? Something needs to be done. "

Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, MP for West Budama South, said: “I was in the same class as Galogitho." We were in the fifth year, with only six months left to complete the course. I was expelled together with him, but I was given a hearing, which was not given to him. He was summarily dismissed."

Kiranda said no one had ever approached them concerning Galogitho and promised they would be readily available to engage if approached.

Tororo South MP Fredrick Angura said: “This issue of small budgets for feeding students is not only at Makerere University. It is the case in all public universities and needs to be addressed.”

The committee chairman, Medard Lubega Sseggona, emphasized the need for the challenges the university was facing to be urgently addressed by the government.

“The halls are in a bad state. The halls of a university speak volumes about its image. Even if you do a lot of research, if the halls are in that state, you are still hurting the university,” Sseggona said.

He hailed the management of the university for having greatly improved on adherence to accountability requirements, which earned them a good report of unqualified opinion from the Auditor General.