Makerere relaxes fees policy

Makerere University has revised the 15 percent cumulative tuition policy following one week students’ protest that had paralysed business in and around the university.
The university council in July 2018 approved the policy that sanctioned a 15 percent increment on both tuition and functional fees, over the next five years.

Since October 22, students have been protesting the policy on grounds that it was unfair and making education services expensive at Uganda’s oldest public university.

In an emergency meeting with student leaders on Tuesday, the university council agreed to scrap the 15 percent increment from functional fees for the next three years.

“The 15 percent adjustment in fees shall not apply to functional fees for the remaining period of implementation of fees structure adopted in July 2018. Functional fees shall be capped at the rate applied on the admission cohort for 2019/2020 academic year for the next three years,” reads part of the statement signed by the council chairperson Ms Lorna Magara and the council secretary Mr Yufuf Kiranda.

However, the university council maintained that the 15 percent fees adjustment shall continue to be applied on tuition fees for the remaining period of three years.