{"id":52538,"date":"2023-07-13T21:10:36","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T21:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality"},"modified":"2023-07-13T22:58:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T22:58:51","slug":"makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality","title":{"rendered":"Makerere intake reveals regional inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Makerere University\u2019s intake of new students on private sponsorship for the 2023\/24 academic year shows widening regional and economic inequality, according to our analysis.<\/p>\n

The capital, Kampala, and its neighbouring Wakiso and Mukono districts \u2013 which together constitute Uganda\u2019s most urbanised and wealthiest metropolis \u2013 contribute 20 percent of the 15,000 self-paying students.<\/p>\n

There are 146 districts and cities in the country, and nineteen of those, by our count, have sent 20 or less students each to study at Uganda\u2019s largest and oldest university funded by tax payers.<\/p>\n

Ssembabule, Buvuma and Kalangala island districts, and Luweero, the epicentre of the war that brought the present government to power 37 years ago, are the four districts in central Uganda with the least representation in the admissions.<\/p>\n

Almost all districts in Karamoja, a semi-arid north-eastern sub-region rife with gun violence and cattle raids, each have under 15 students admitted for undergraduate studies at Makerere University on private sponsorship.<\/p>\n

The other underrepresented districts are those in northern and eastern Uganda, which are regions named in Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) reports as the poorest in the country.<\/p>\n

A similar gulf of inequality was manifest in students\u2019 admissions at public universities on government sponsorship.<\/p>\n

There are slightly over 1,500 more girls than boys picked on private sponsorship, continuing a pattern reversal where 52 percent of Makerere\u2019s 13,221 graduates this year were women.<\/p>\n

Uganda Women Network (UWONET) chairperson, Ms Rita Aciro, and Ms Sarah Opendi, the leader of Uganda Parliament Women Association (UWOPA), were cautious yesterday in celebrating the changing fortunes for the girl-child, propelled to university admission with a free add-on of 1.6 points.<\/p>\n

Ms Aciro said the gender shift reflected a portrait of a Uganda where women outnumber men, and a rising number of girls staying in school longer instead of marrying early.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, are they (educated women) getting employed?\u201d she asked, spotlighting unemployment headache that is gender-neutral and most prevalent among the young.<\/p>\n

The State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Ms Esther Anyakun, who is the Nakapiripirit District Woman representative in the 11th Parliament, linked the poor academic showing of her native Karamoja to insecurity prevailing in the sub-region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should first address the issue of insecurity since it also contributes to the school drop-outs [and poor performance] in the region,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The number of private students Makerere has admitted for the new academic year, which starts on August 19, is the highest in its history by 2000.<\/p>\n

Thousands more of students have been admitted to study humanities than sciences, contrasting with the government enforced science policy being championed by President Museveni who in 2022 incentivised scientists in government employment by tripling their pay.<\/p>\n

Asked if the admissions show failure of the science promotion policy, Dr Monica Musenero, the minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, said more students applied for arts on private because the government sponsorship was skewed in favour of sciences.<\/p>\n

She said more science students would have been admitted has the students\u2019 loan scheme, which the government has frozen for this academic year over budget shortfalls, was running.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim is to ensure that [investing in] one scientist can create jobs for many people,\u201d Dr Musenero said.<\/p>\n

The minister said a look at the admissions list may show regional imbalance but, without details of the origin districts of selected students, it is premature to conclude because they could be children of the rich from other regions huddled in metropolitan Kampala for jobs or other opportunities.<\/p>\n

However, leaders of schools and teachers\u2019 association argued that majority learning institutions upcountry have fewer teachers, less facilities and most either lack laboratories or reagents for practical science lessons, explaining poor performances in the subjects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe admissions are a reflection of how students performed [in A-level exams] and this should be a serious lesson to the government because it is the government\u2019s obligation to ensure that all Ugandans attain all levels of education,\u201d said Mr Filbert Baguma, the general-secretary of Uganda National Teachers\u2019 Union (Unatu).<\/p>\n

He called for national soul-searching about inequality in the country, especially Karamoja and ask \u201cif the region has A-level schools, are their teachers, do we have laboratories and other facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are to solve the problem, we must address the issue of access to schools, availability and deployment of teachers,\u201d Mr Baguma said.<\/p>\n

Mr Hasadu Kirabira, the national chairperson of the National Private Education Institutions Association (NPEIA), said the low number of students admitted to study sciences corresponds to the government\u2019s limited investments.<\/p>\n

\u201c… you cannot speak about promoting science in schools when the laboratory chemicals [for science practical lessons] and apparatuses are still expensive,\u201d he said, calling for higher budget allocation to the education sector.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Makerere University\u2019s intake of new students on private sponsorship for the 2023\/24 academic year shows widening regional and economic inequality, according to our analysis. The capital, Kampala, and its neighbouring Wakiso and Mukono districts \u2013 which together constitute Uganda\u2019s most urbanised and wealthiest metropolis \u2013 contribute 20 percent of the 15,000 self-paying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":52536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-52538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nMakerere intake reveals regional inequality - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Makerere University\u2019s intake of new students on private sponsorship for the 2023\/24 academic year shows widening regiona ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Makerere intake reveals regional inequality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Makerere University\u2019s intake of new students on private sponsorship for the 2023\/24 academic year shows widening regiona ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-13T21:10:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-13T22:58:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/07\/sm_1689272787.490136.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Makerere intake reveals regional inequality\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-13T21:10:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-13T22:58:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\"},\"wordCount\":787,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/07\/sm_1689272787.490136.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/makerere-intake-reveals-regional-inequality\",\"name\":\"Makerere intake reveals regional inequality - 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