LIST: Kitende, Budo top Makerere govt list 

Makerere University Business School students dance during their graduation ceremony at Makerere University main campus in Kampala on May 26 last year. Makerere has admitted 1,474 students on government sponsorship for the 2023/2024 academic year. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI. 

What you need to know:

  • The government annually sponsors 4,000 students who are admitted in all public universities in the country. 

Traditional powerhouses, including St Mary’s SS Kitende, King’s College Budo and Uganda Martyrs Namugongo, have topped Makerere University government sponsorship list that was released on Friday.
According to the list, Makerere University has admitted 1,474 students for the 2023/2024 academic year. 
Of these, 778 are female and 696 are male.

According to the list, St Mary’s SS Kitende takes the lion share with 133 students. It is followed by Uganda Martyrs SS Namugongo (62), Kings College Budo (52), Mengo SS (36), Gayaza High School (32) and Mary Hill High School (31).
Other schools with more than 20 students admitted to the ivory tower include Our Lady of Africa SS Namilyango, Seeta High School, Iganga SS, Ntare SS, St Joseph SS Naggalama, Nabisunsa, Mandela SS Hoima, St Andrea Kaahwa’s College, and Mt St Mary’s Namagunga.
When contacted yesterday, Prof Buyinza Mukadasi, Makerere University’s academic registrar, said the government sponsorship is based on the automated performance-based system criteria. He added that the process was very competitive given the better performance of students who sat for the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education in 2022.

“For some time, we have been using a computerised system which is automated and it picks the best students. You cannot determine who will appear,” Prof Mukadasi said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The government annually sponsors 4,000 students who are admitted in all public universities in the country. Makerere, the country’s premier university, takes the lion share. This year, the ivory tower has admitted 1,474 students, leaving the other nine public universities to take up the remaining 2,526 students.
Makerere will still admit more students under the private scheme, with the deadline set at May 31.