Kampala, Uganda | URN | Makerere University students will no longer pay surcharges due to late payment for the ongoing semester.
The University had earlier activated a surcharge of 50,000 Shillings on students who fail to beat the registration deadline, which triggered panic amongst students who are supposed to commence their examinations on January 16th, 2023.
However, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University allayed the fears among the students in his January 09th, 2023 letter to the Guild President, Lawrence Alionzi. Nawangwe, who was responding to an earlier request by Alionzi to waive the surcharge on the late tuition payment, said that although he had scrapped the surcharge, students should clear all their arrears before the end of the semester.
“This is to confirm that your request to waive the surcharge due to late registration owing to the prevailing economic hardships faced by parents and guardians is approved,” part of the letter reads. “However, I urge the students to pay fees in full before exams commence. By copy of this letter, the University Bursar is instructed to waive the surcharge immediately,” the letter adds.
The ongoing semester, which started in October 2022 will end come to an end on February 06th 2023. According to the university policy, each student is required to clear the balance of their fee before they receive permits granting them permission to access the examination room.
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Speaking to our reporter Muzafaluh Kabuulwa, the Guild Information, Research, and Computer Technology Minister said a number of students approached the Guild leaders to request the University Administration to waive the surcharge on late payment because their guardians were struggling.
“Many students approached us, asking us to request the administration to remove the surcharge, therefore this positive response from the vice-chancellor has been everyone’s prayer,” he said. Sadat Mukwaya, a student at the College of Computing and Information Science-COCIS has welcomed the decision by the university leadership.
He added that because the University has been operating under abnormalities in which many semesters have been adjusted in a short period of time to make up for time lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their parents are unable to pay on time considering the after-effects of COVID-19 on their income.
