Government-sponsored students at Makerere University are facing severe challenges as essential food and housing allowances have gone unpaid for three months, leaving many in starving circumstances.
Numerous students have reportedly been forced to skip meals or have even been expelled from hostels due to unpaid fees. The crisis is escalating, with reports of students collapsing from hunger and needing urgent medical attention.
The university administration cites a budget cut as the cause of the crisis. According to the Bursar, Mr. Evarist Bainomugisha, Makerere University experienced a government-imposed budget reduction of Shs25.9 billion, affecting essential allocations, including those designated for student allowances.
“This is what we have been telling you all along,” Mr. Bainomugisha stated in an audio recording shared with the students.
“The money in the budget was cut by the government… We appealed to [the government] to reinstate that money because it included the money for student allowances. That is the challenge we are receiving. They promised that they are going to reinstate it but there is a process that they have to go through.”
In response, the Dean of Students, Ms. Winnie Kabumbuli, issued a letter contradicting Mr. Bainomugisha’s statements. However, for the students, the confusion only adds to their frustrations as they continue to wait for clarity and support from the university and government bodies.
Pastor Martin Ssempa, an outspoken Makerere alumnus and advocate for student welfare, highlighted the urgency of the situation.
“How can you fund Sh8 billion for the repair of the dilapidated Mary Stuart hall or continue to build the university wall and fail to pay half that amount for the student food and housing allowances?” he questioned.
He criticized the prioritization of infrastructure development over what he termed “critical life-saving priorities.”
Pastor Ssempa further condemned the funding allocations, noting that approximately “95% of the students report missing meals because they don’t have money or can’t afford the food.”
He urged university officials, including the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe and Lorna Magara, Chair of the University Council to consider the immediate needs of the students over long-term infrastructure projects.
He also called on authorities to reevaluate the Shs4,500 daily allowance set in 2015, pointing out its inadequacy in light of current economic conditions. Citing a study by Cassius Omoro, Ssempa noted that the outdated amount covers only “30% of what is needed for daily student survival.”
Pastor Ssempa and other stakeholders are seeking an urgent meeting with university officials to discuss solutions.
“We can do both a physical or virtual meeting. I stand available along with many students, and concerned parents, alumni, and mentors,” he stated.
Speaking to one of the affected students, said that some students were paid full amount of internship allowances though he never disclosed the exact colleges that received and other students have never received any money.
He added that the majority received Shs350, 000 and Shs450, 000 and Shs90, 000 on their bank accounts during the start of the semester.
“There are students who received Shs350, 000 and Shs450, 000 and Shs90, 000 as food allowances and others received money in cash as the administration notified them that they are still clarifying the system. The most affected are those in first years as most say they received only Shs90, 000,” said a student who preferred anonymity.
Another embattled student (girl) in year one decried the delay to receiving the allowances and revealed that she never got in the first batch.
She went to the office of the students’ affairs and was told that she has to wait until the government releases the money to the University; it will then be disbursed to the bank account.
“The man in the students’ affairs office told me that my allowances are not yet paid. But when the government sends us the money we shall pay you that he didn’t tell me in which period. I survive on God’s mercy because I have no job to earn me a living. I only call my mother to send me money and she also doesn’t have much,” she narrated.
