District quota system discussed, Kyambogo University in offing

By Anthony Mugeere The quota system, that was once a source of controversy among education policy makers and analysts, is due for implementation this year. Mr. Francis Xavier Lubanga, the permanent secretary (PS), Ministry of Education and Sports, says the ministry is working out the modalities for admissions at Makerere University. The quota system will be one of the criteria followed. The university will admit students basing on district populations, among other things. Districts with high populations like Kampala, Mpigi or Mbarara will, for instance, have a bigger share of the student intake than the likes of Kalangala and Moroto. Critics say the system will not only "tribalise" our education system, it will also put the sparsely populated districts at a disadvantage. The system was introduced in Kenya several years ago but is not working out. There is confusion in registering students from 'cosmopolitan' districts to the three state universities and has been reportedly hijacked by the politicians. The introduction of the same system may ocause the same problems here. The way forward may be the provision of scholarships at the districts and other lower levels as it was in the past. This will create equal opportunities to all districts instead of widening the gap between the 'densely peopled' and sparsely peopled areas. The long awaited Kyambogo University may finally become a reality this October. President Yoweri Museveni feels a lot of water has flown under the bridge since the idea was conceived four years ago. He has directed the ministry of education to ensure that everything is in place for its opening in October. The new university will be born out of a merger of the Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK), Uganda National Institute for Special Education (UNISE) and the Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo (UPK). Principals of Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs) must realise that the days when they had a free hand in handling administrative matters are long gone. Mrs. Namirembe Bitamazire, state minister for primary education, says the priciplas have misused their power. This has led to communication breakdown between administration and students leading to strikes. dents. The week also saw the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) producing the first batch of Masters Degree graduates. Ends