Makerere University Extends Suspension of Annual Tuition Increase Amid Student Protests.

Makerere University has decided to prolong the suspension of the 15 percent annual tuition increase for privately sponsored students, which was introduced in 2019.

This policy triggered protests from students who believed that it would hinder access to education for those from poor families.

In 2021, the then Guild President Ivan Ssempijja asked the university to halt the policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic constraints.

Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, the University Vice-Chancellor, said then that the council had heeded the request of the students and the increment was suspended for the next two years.  

The university council agreed to suspend the increase for the next two years. However, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academics affairs Professor Umar Kakumba, now says that the suspension will end, and the fee structure will remain the same as that of the 2019 intake.

The 15% increment recommendation was proposed in 2018 by student leaders to replace the University Council's proposed 41 percent and 91 percent increments, which were later suspended. The decision to introduce the 15% increment caused demonstrations, leading to several students being arrested or suspended.