Prime
4,000 continuing students to apply for govt sponsorships
Graduates follow proceedings during the 72nd graduation ceremony of Makerere University on May 24. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- Makerere is coordinating the exercise that will benefit continuing students who are now in their first and second year.
Makerere University has asked more than 4,000 continuing students in all public universities who sat for their Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) in 2019 and 2020 to apply for government sponsorship this academic year (2022/2023).
Makerere is coordinating the exercise that will benefit continuing students, who are now in their first and second year.
Sciences vs non-sciences:From fiction to realities
The suitable candidates, both in first and second year, who qualify for sponsorship after nominations, will be required to commence their studies afresh as first year learners.
Previously, students who sit for UACE are the only ones eligible to apply for government sponsorship in their respective schools, through Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) each academic year.
However, Uneb did not conduct UACE exams in 2021 due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown that culminated in closure of schools and institutions of higher learning, meaning there are no sitting candidates to join universities this year.
Makerere University Secretary Yusuf Kiranda yesterday confirmed the new development to Daily Monitor in an interview. “You all understand that we do not have Senior Six leavers this year. The ones who sat for UACE in 2020 joined the university and are in First Year. Since we did not have exams in 2021, the Ministry of Education asked us to identify students to utilise the money, which is budgeted for each year,” Mr Kiranda said.
Conditions
“It is not automatic that one will be given a course he or she is offering now. If you are doing education, you might be given another course and this will require you to start afresh,” he added.
“There are also some learners who sat for UACE in 2020 but have not yet joined any institution due to financial constraints. These are encouraged to apply,” he said.
The university secretary emphasized that Makerere will coordinate the selection exercise for qualifying candidates and they will later revert to the traditional way of applying for the same in their respective schools through the Uneb next year.
According to the circular from the Makerere University Academic Registrar, Mr Alfred Masikye, students will be required to apply for these sponsorships online through the ACIMIS system, which is used by most public universities.
The application process kicked off on Monday, and ends on August 5. Applicants are supposed to pay Shs52,000 non-refundable fees.
“Applicants are strongly warned against presenting forged or other people’s academic documents to support their applications for admission. The consequences, if discovered, are very grave,” the circular from Mr Masikye reads.
He warned students already admitted on government sponsorship not to reapply.
Those eligible for applying for scholarships should be from the eight public universities, including Makerere, Kyambogo, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Busitema, Lira, Muni, Gulu and Kabale universities.
Govt sponsored
Government usually awards sponsorships to 4,000 students at the national level and are distributed among the nine public universities. Makerere University, however, usually takes the lion’s share of about 1,600 students.
