Makerere University will not increase tuition fee as earlier communicated for the next academic year 2007/08 scheduled to
start in August.
This follows the government’s directive to the University not to increase tuition fees citing improper decision taken.
Minister of State for Higher
Education, Gabriel Opio, revealed on 8th June to have written to the University officials advising them not to increase tuition fees for private students for the academic year 2007/2008.
Opio said they considered their request but it was turned down and the University will not increase fees for the next academic year.
He was suspicious of the finance
committee making a decision to implement the policy of raising fees before the University Council has discussed the matter.
The council, the supreme decision-making organ of the university, fixes the scale of tuition fees, while the ministry of education directs on policy matters.
Opio complained that the decision to increase the fees had been done in an improper way and the issue of raising fees is a policy matter they have to intervene.
The minister emphasized that any decision concerning tuition fees is taken after President Yoweri Museveni has carefully studied the Visitation committee report.
The Visitation Committee wrote a damning report about the financial management of the university and they found that Makerere has no integrated budget, no clear internal controls and internal auditing procedures and no guarantee that funds are disbursed in accordance with the approved allocations to the units (faculties).
This is the second time the Government blocks Makerere from increasing tuition fees after the first time was in 2005.
The finance committee chairman, Prof. David Bakibinga, had written to the Ministry of Education requesting to implement a 2005 decision by the University Council to increase the fees based on a study by a consultant.
The consultant had proposed a 70 percent increase for sciences and almost 50 percent increase for arts courses.