In a statement read to the parliament, the state minister for higher Education, John Chrysestom Muyingo has clarified on the decision by the Makerere University Council to review the fees structure for undergraduate programmes.
Muyingo stated that the University Council took a decision to raise fees of undergraduate programs, in order to meet the challenges of the deteriorating quality of service delivery at the university.
He warned that since the fees had not been reviewed for more than 10 years, the University Council decided to raise the interim fees in the range of 49% – 9i% for selected programmes. However, the proposed reviews were still far below the unit cost, recommended by the Rwendeire committee.
“This was an interim measure, pending Government’s position on unit costs for academic programmes,” Muyingo said adding that,
“The new fees structure which was widely advertised in the mass media and the student’s leadership, through the Guild Representative Council (GRC) resisted the University Council decision, and requested the council to defer her decision, pending further consultations and students’ input.”
He revealed that, the Council accepted the request and deferred implementation of the decision to allow for the consultations.
The GRC set up a committee mandated to study the University Council decision and make an input. The committee set up by the GRC, bench-marked one regional university in the East African community (Nairobi University) and they established that Makerere University charges fees that are much lower than fees charged by Nairobi University.
The GRC committee also noted that it was not feasible to charge the unit cost as proposed by the Rwendeire committee, as most students would not afford the proposed rates.
The GRC committee submitted a chairperson of council with the recommendations that instead of increments ranging from 49%to 91% on selected programmes, fees for undergraduate programmes should be increased across the board, by 15% for the next five years beginning with academic year 2018/19.
Muyingo said that each cohort of students would maintain the same fees structure, for the duration of their studies.
He added that the University council accepted and endorsed the recommendations of GRC committee, on the new fees structure. There is now consensus between the university council, management and the guild representative council, a body that represents the students’ community at Makerere University.
He further said that Ministry of Education and Sports notes that the University needs to issue admission letters to first year students as soon as possible, to enable parents and students prepare for commencement of the first semester of academic year 2018/2019.
In reaction to Muyongo’s statement, the youth member of parliament representative, Ann Adeke argued that: “Time and again, Makerere is run by private students and Government funding has remained constant. 15% has been put as increment for only private students.” She put the minister to task to explain the effect of the 15% increment on government sponsored students.
“Show us the 15% that Government is going to increase for each student who is going to be Government sponsored in the University because the budget has been passed.
We want to exercise equity here between Government and private students, Makerere University is still a public institution. Why should private students shoulder the entire burden? The Minister must show the 15% increment for Government institutions, short of that, it won’t be justifiable at all,” Ebaju noted adding that the whole process has been done on a wrong benchmark.
Agaba Abas noted that there is nothing democratic about equitable fees whether students agree or not.
“If the University is going to increase fees, they will increase. Parliament would like to know the cause for the increment of fees.
The reason we have public Universities is to enable education for as many students as possible meaning Government shoulders the responsibility of as much Ugandans as they can. Our argument has been that Government widens the coverage of students so that private students reduce, but the moment you increase the fees, you increase the proportion of private students,” Agaba said.
Kasibante Moses, the Rubaga North legislator said that the GRC has no obligation to determine the fees structure of the generation that isn’t going to live. “The strikes that we have been having in public Universities have been brought about by the current problems and you can’t say, because the GRC has accepted this, the next generation should pay that money,” Kasibante notes.
By Stella Mugoya
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