Education
Nambozo distances self on MAK fees increment
Florence Nambozo
The Sironko district Woman Member of Parliament, Florence Nambozo has distanced herself from the NRM caucus members who supported the 15 percent fees increment policy at Makerere University.
The legislator said that despite attending the NRM caucus meeting at State house on Monday last week, she is totally against the policy since it negatively affects students from poor families. “I am not part of those in support of this policy and I am not ready to endorse it even before parliament,” she said.
She described the fees increment as an unfair and exorbitant policy which will discourage the poor from attaining university education.
“Even with the old fees structure, many students find it difficult to access university education. And now with the tuition increment at Makerere, university education in Uganda will become a preserve of the rich,” she said.
Majority of the ruling NRM who attended the meeting supported the increment.
Under the controversial fees policy, an annual 15 percent cumulative increment has been imposed on all courses at Makerere University for the next five years. The policy sparked off student protests where the army and police responded with beating of students and some journalists who were covering the event. This led to the journalists’ boycott of police activities to date.
Nambozo has however advised Makerere University through the Ministry of Education to lobby for increased funding and appropriation so as to reduce its reliance on fees from private students other than implementing the policy of fees increment.
She said that the government should get subsidies from the national budget to increase the vote for public university fundi
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