East African universities propose even fees structure, uniform courses
Aug 10, 2011
STUDENTS in all East African universities may soon pay uniform tuition fees.
By Conan Businge and Pauline Nabumba
STUDENTS in all East African universities may soon pay uniform tuition fees.
The universities will also have similar minimum standards of requirements to handle particular courses.
The policy follows a new plan to harmonise East African university education.
Education minister Jessica Alupo yesterday said the harmonisation process is in its initial stages.
She said students would have the liberty to move from one university to another and continue with their education, as it is done in secondary schools.
The minister explained that performance grades of a student can to be transferred from a mother university to the one he or she is moving to.
For instance, if a second-year student was pursuing Medicine at Makerere University, he or she can join Dar-es-Salaam University as a continuing student as her partial results will be passed on by Makerere for official consideration.
Alupo added that universities would be expected to charge relatively uniform tuition fees for given core courses in accredited and equivalent universities.
“Private and public universities will be expected to follow the new policy when it takes effect. We want to make sure that studying in East Africa’s higher institutions of learning is open for all, flexible and accessible,†she explained.
Alupo said once the harmonisation process is done, all the East African universities would be expected to have a uniform academic calendar.
This will ease the process in cases where a student may decide to transfer to another institution in the region.
She also said particular universities in East Africa will be supported to major in particular courses.
In case Kyambogo University is the best in education, it will be supported by the Inter-University Council for East Africa to be the leading in teaching that particular course.
The five East African Community countries-Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda- plan to harmonise their higher education as they integrate into one trading bloc.
The Inter-University Council for East Africa is a regional body under the EAC with over 70 public and private university members across the five East African partner States.
But the countries have widely varying higher education systems that must be standardised.
For example, it takes five years for a student to complete an engineering degree in Kenya, compared to four years in Uganda.
To pursue a degree in medicine at a Kenyan university takes five years, a year less than in Tanzania and Uganda.
The planned harmonisation process will require major changes in education systems, some of which countries seem uncomfortable with.
Makerere University’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, said he would support the idea of having minimum standards of requirements for handling a particular course.
He, however, added that harmonising tuition fees is not practical.
“We can alternatively have minimum tuition fees set for courses. But we cannot have maximum fees for universities’ courses because we are in different economies,†Baryamureeba explained.
The chairman of the vice-chancellors’ forum, Prof. Badru Kateregga, said the new policy would be instrumental and easier for core courses.
The core courses include law, medicine, engineering, information technology, computer science and education.
Kateregga, who is the vice-chancellor of Kampala University, said there would be hurdles related to setting uniform tuition fees.
Kyambogo University vice-chancellor Prof. Isaiah Ndiege said the best move was to set minimum standards for each programme, since every university is independent.
“Unless some laws are changed, this will be tricky. The council should allow diversity and competition,†he added.
There will also be a regional accreditation committee to grant regional accreditation status to member universities or foreign universities.
Until the late 1960s, education in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya served as a unifying force across the three states of the East African Community.
Curricula and examinations were the same at almost all levels of education, as determined by the examination council of East Africa.
STUDENTS in all East African universities may soon pay uniform tuition fees.
The universities will also have similar minimum standards of requirements to handle particular courses.
The policy follows a new plan to harmonise East African university education.
Education minister Jessica Alupo yesterday said the harmonisation process is in its initial stages.
She said students would have the liberty to move from one university to another and continue with their education, as it is done in secondary schools.
The minister explained that performance grades of a student can to be transferred from a mother university to the one he or she is moving to.
For instance, if a second-year student was pursuing Medicine at Makerere University, he or she can join Dar-es-Salaam University as a continuing student as her partial results will be passed on by Makerere for official consideration.
Alupo added that universities would be expected to charge relatively uniform tuition fees for given core courses in accredited and equivalent universities.
“Private and public universities will be expected to follow the new policy when it takes effect. We want to make sure that studying in East Africa’s higher institutions of learning is open for all, flexible and accessible,†she explained.
Alupo said once the harmonisation process is done, all the East African universities would be expected to have a uniform academic calendar.
This will ease the process in cases where a student may decide to transfer to another institution in the region.
She also said particular universities in East Africa will be supported to major in particular courses.
In case Kyambogo University is the best in education, it will be supported by the Inter-University Council for East Africa to be the leading in teaching that particular course.
The five East African Community countries-Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda- plan to harmonise their higher education as they integrate into one trading bloc.
The Inter-University Council for East Africa is a regional body under the EAC with over 70 public and private university members across the five East African partner States.
But the countries have widely varying higher education systems that must be standardised.
For example, it takes five years for a student to complete an engineering degree in Kenya, compared to four years in Uganda.
To pursue a degree in medicine at a Kenyan university takes five years, a year less than in Tanzania and Uganda.
The planned harmonisation process will require major changes in education systems, some of which countries seem uncomfortable with.
Makerere University’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, said he would support the idea of having minimum standards of requirements for handling a particular course.
He, however, added that harmonising tuition fees is not practical.
“We can alternatively have minimum tuition fees set for courses. But we cannot have maximum fees for universities’ courses because we are in different economies,†Baryamureeba explained.
The chairman of the vice-chancellors’ forum, Prof. Badru Kateregga, said the new policy would be instrumental and easier for core courses.
The core courses include law, medicine, engineering, information technology, computer science and education.
Kateregga, who is the vice-chancellor of Kampala University, said there would be hurdles related to setting uniform tuition fees.
Kyambogo University vice-chancellor Prof. Isaiah Ndiege said the best move was to set minimum standards for each programme, since every university is independent.
“Unless some laws are changed, this will be tricky. The council should allow diversity and competition,†he added.
There will also be a regional accreditation committee to grant regional accreditation status to member universities or foreign universities.
Until the late 1960s, education in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya served as a unifying force across the three states of the East African Community.
Curricula and examinations were the same at almost all levels of education, as determined by the examination council of East Africa.