Kakaire Wilber, AfricaNews reporter in Makerere, Uganda
Dear Africa:
Makrere University - one of the top Universities in African - has of late turned into a business enterprise. I am tempted to say that the government of Uganda connives with the University top management to exploit Students.
It is equally true that the central government has neglected the claims by the students about exorbitant fees but has only accepted increment in tuition fees per semester and levying other payments.
The whole world seems to have perceived it that the Ugandan government sponsors students on national merit, those with exceptional performance, the talented and the disadvantaged. NO! Thanks for that pretext, what seems to be a good analytical fact and as quoted from one of the professors is that the International and private students pay directly for the government sponsored students. Why? 90% of all the courses in this University are above one million shillings {1,000,000shs}. But if you are to look down to the fellow Ugandans who are exploited, they all seem to be from very humble backgrounds. With this poverty all over the country, which parent can raise that money within the shortest time given to students to register with evidence of not less than 60% of all the money [tuition and functional fees].
As a matter of fact should there be a proposal to only have government students in this University, there seems to erupt a conflict of interest, it will not be among students, not lecturers, but a certain group of people who are either untouchables in this regime or they have the government rallying behind them. Students pay a lot of money but you will again here a strike in this University ignited by the failure to pay off the lecturers.
It beats my understanding to find the whole faculty of Computing and Information Technology [FCIT] lacking cable wires, and currently the first year students who are on day program are being asked to buy two cables because ever since last week when the cable went missing, they have not been having PowerPoint presentations. There are lots of things going round this campus that vividly depict something out of order, its nothing other done corruption. Arise let us fight corruption in all it forms and manifestations.
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