Makerere University raised fees for its undergraduate programmes in order to meet the challenges of the deteriorating quality of service delivery at the university, the Minister of State for Education, Hon. John Chrysostom Muyingo has said.
Responding to a concern raised by National Female Youth MP, Hon. Anna Adeke Ebaju, the Minister said that Makerere University Council took a decision to raise fees after consultation and benchmarking excersie from Nairobi University in Kenya.
During a House sitting on 12 July 2018, Hon. Adeke (Ind.,), a former Guild (Students) President at Makerere University said the Council decision to raise university fees would negatively affect learners at the institution.
Minister Muyingo, who is also MP for Bamunanika in Luwero district, said that the University Council had not increased fees for ten years.
The University Council decided to raise the interim fees in the range of 49 – 91 percent for selected programmes, but the proposed reviews were still far below the unit cost, recommended by the Rwendeire committee,”said Muyingo adding that This was an interim measure, pending government’s position on unit costs for academic programmes.”
Comparing the fees structure for selected programmes at Nairobi University, including Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Dental Surgery and Agriculture, the Minister said that the fees at Makerere University were still far below what is required of students at the Kenyan counterpart.
He informed that the Members that the Students leadership through the Guild Representative Council (GRC) together with the University council were in agreement and had recommended that the Council do consider increasing the fees across all courses.
The Ministry of Education and Sports notes that the University need 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,”he said.
Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah, recommended that a proper motion about the fees increment be moved for members to fully debate the subject.
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