Government universities raise fees by 40%
Aug 12, 2009
ALL public universities have increased tuition fees by 40%. <br>The new fees apply to private students enrolling this academic year. It will not affect continuing students.
By Conan Businge
ALL public universities have increased tuition fees by 40%.
The new fees apply to private students enrolling this academic year. It will not affect continuing students.
Makerere, Kyambogo, Mbarara, Busitema and Gulu universities have increased fees. Public universities’ councils are allowed to set new fees provided they get approval from the Government. The last time public universities increased fees was in 1991.
Higher education state minister Rukutana Mwesigwa justified the increase by pointing at the cumulative inflation over the past two decades.
“It was inevitable for the Government to approve the councils’ requests,†he said. “We blocked fees increment in the past. But it was not possible to effectively run these universities on the same fees. We need quality education and that calls for more investments.â€
He explained that the old rates risked compromising the standards of public universities. “We had reached a level where education inputs were higher than what private students and the Government were paying.â€
The universities have been calling for increased Government funding. But the share of higher education in the education budget has been declining.
This is attributed to other budgetary demands on the treasury but also to a change of focus to universal primary and secondary education.
While the five public universities took 9.3% of the total budget in the last financial year, this declined to 8.7% this year.
In the last 10 years, the contribution of the Government to public universities averaged 0.30% of GDP, said the National Council for Higher Education.
In comparison, Kenya contributed 0.9% and Tanzania 1% of GDP in the same period.
The council also said the fees paid in all Ugandan tertiary institutions are lower than the cost of educating students.
“Data of known studies suggests that in most Ugandan universities, students pay about 30 to 40% of the unit cost of the programmes they are registered in,†the director, A.B. Kasozi, wrote in a recent report.
As a result, Kasozi said, all universities were faced with huge debts. Makerere had an accumulated deficit of about sh64b by 2007. Kyambogo and Gulu registered a deficit each of sh3.8b last year, while the new Busitema University had a gap of sh2.4b.
“The result of the financial crisis is the delivery of inferior education, mismanagement and brain drain. Without money, public universities can never recruit good academics,†according to Kasozi.
But the fees increment has not been appreciated by students. At Makerere and Mbarara universities, student leaders said the increment was wrongly timed.
Addressing journalists in Kampala, Makerere students guild president, Robert Okware, said he would petition the Government over the issue.
“We reject the fees increment. Many of the students come from very poor families and the university should recognise this.â€
Mbarara University’s students’ chief, Deus Nkwatsiibwe, said the increment would greatly affect the private students. He asked the Government to subsidise private students.
Additional reporting
by Francis Kagolo, Chris Ocowum, A. Ssengendo
ALL public universities have increased tuition fees by 40%.
The new fees apply to private students enrolling this academic year. It will not affect continuing students.
Makerere, Kyambogo, Mbarara, Busitema and Gulu universities have increased fees. Public universities’ councils are allowed to set new fees provided they get approval from the Government. The last time public universities increased fees was in 1991.
Higher education state minister Rukutana Mwesigwa justified the increase by pointing at the cumulative inflation over the past two decades.
“It was inevitable for the Government to approve the councils’ requests,†he said. “We blocked fees increment in the past. But it was not possible to effectively run these universities on the same fees. We need quality education and that calls for more investments.â€
He explained that the old rates risked compromising the standards of public universities. “We had reached a level where education inputs were higher than what private students and the Government were paying.â€
The universities have been calling for increased Government funding. But the share of higher education in the education budget has been declining.
This is attributed to other budgetary demands on the treasury but also to a change of focus to universal primary and secondary education.
While the five public universities took 9.3% of the total budget in the last financial year, this declined to 8.7% this year.
In the last 10 years, the contribution of the Government to public universities averaged 0.30% of GDP, said the National Council for Higher Education.
In comparison, Kenya contributed 0.9% and Tanzania 1% of GDP in the same period.
The council also said the fees paid in all Ugandan tertiary institutions are lower than the cost of educating students.
“Data of known studies suggests that in most Ugandan universities, students pay about 30 to 40% of the unit cost of the programmes they are registered in,†the director, A.B. Kasozi, wrote in a recent report.
As a result, Kasozi said, all universities were faced with huge debts. Makerere had an accumulated deficit of about sh64b by 2007. Kyambogo and Gulu registered a deficit each of sh3.8b last year, while the new Busitema University had a gap of sh2.4b.
“The result of the financial crisis is the delivery of inferior education, mismanagement and brain drain. Without money, public universities can never recruit good academics,†according to Kasozi.
But the fees increment has not been appreciated by students. At Makerere and Mbarara universities, student leaders said the increment was wrongly timed.
Addressing journalists in Kampala, Makerere students guild president, Robert Okware, said he would petition the Government over the issue.
“We reject the fees increment. Many of the students come from very poor families and the university should recognise this.â€
Mbarara University’s students’ chief, Deus Nkwatsiibwe, said the increment would greatly affect the private students. He asked the Government to subsidise private students.
Additional reporting
by Francis Kagolo, Chris Ocowum, A. Ssengendo