Museveni to review Makerere fees
Feb 15, 2011
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has promised to cause a review of the Makerere University tuition fees structure to ensure that it is not too expensive to the children of low-income earners.
By Cyprian Musoke
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has promised to cause a review of the Makerere University tuition fees structure to ensure that it is not too expensive to the children of low-income earners.
Addressing students at Makerere yesterday, Museveni said university education did not have to be too prohibitive.
This was after the students complained to him that fees were raised each year, above additional charges like exam and internship fees.
Museveni said: “Why should we continue providing education expensively when countries like India are providing it cheaply? I will commission a study to show how we can provide university education at an affordable cost,†he said.
The President said it was unfair for most of the 4,000 government-sponsored students to come from rich families that can afford to take their children to “first world†secondary schools.
He added that the system should be reviewed constantly to ensure that children of the poor also benefit from government sponsorship.
The university vice-chancellor, Venasius Baryamureeba, said the increments were made after a team of professional auditors made research on the unit cost of the university’s education.
“It is upon their recommendations that the university based to arrive at the current fess structure,†he said.
But the students again complained that they were paying sh600,000 for internship which they were doing outside the university.
To this, Baryamureeba responded that the sh600,000 was broken into sh100,000, payable every semester for six semesters to make it affordable.
“Of this, sh300,000 is repaid to the students to cater for costs they incur during the internship. Sh300, 000 is for administrative costs,†he said.
The President promised to look into these matters after the elections.
He expressed regret that some youth continue supporting the opposition when it was only the NRM that had a well-articulated plan for job-creation to bring them out of poverty.
The Government, he added, would extend free education to A’level education and tertiary institutions, and introduce student loans.
“But after your education, the next important thing is jobs, hence the need to support our job creation strategies,†Museveni said.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has promised to cause a review of the Makerere University tuition fees structure to ensure that it is not too expensive to the children of low-income earners.
Addressing students at Makerere yesterday, Museveni said university education did not have to be too prohibitive.
This was after the students complained to him that fees were raised each year, above additional charges like exam and internship fees.
Museveni said: “Why should we continue providing education expensively when countries like India are providing it cheaply? I will commission a study to show how we can provide university education at an affordable cost,†he said.
The President said it was unfair for most of the 4,000 government-sponsored students to come from rich families that can afford to take their children to “first world†secondary schools.
He added that the system should be reviewed constantly to ensure that children of the poor also benefit from government sponsorship.
The university vice-chancellor, Venasius Baryamureeba, said the increments were made after a team of professional auditors made research on the unit cost of the university’s education.
“It is upon their recommendations that the university based to arrive at the current fess structure,†he said.
But the students again complained that they were paying sh600,000 for internship which they were doing outside the university.
To this, Baryamureeba responded that the sh600,000 was broken into sh100,000, payable every semester for six semesters to make it affordable.
“Of this, sh300,000 is repaid to the students to cater for costs they incur during the internship. Sh300, 000 is for administrative costs,†he said.
The President promised to look into these matters after the elections.
He expressed regret that some youth continue supporting the opposition when it was only the NRM that had a well-articulated plan for job-creation to bring them out of poverty.
The Government, he added, would extend free education to A’level education and tertiary institutions, and introduce student loans.
“But after your education, the next important thing is jobs, hence the need to support our job creation strategies,†Museveni said.