The Minister for Education Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni has said corruption has so much to do with what is happening at Makerere University.
Mrs. Museveni said she was dismayed to learn that the people involved in the protests are not students from Makerere or any other university, but opposition politicians who are well funded by some unknown sources; people who have made it their way of life to be paid to join any riot whenever it is happening.
Janet said corruption has so much to do with what is happening at Universities not only at Makerere, but at all other universities. Janet Museveni also wondered how students could turn around and accuse the administration of Makerere University of “imposing high costs” yet they were involved and consulted during the formalization of the same policy.
She says the logical and right thing to do would have been to ask for further consultations so as to revisit the issue and find a new way forward.
Mrs. Museveni said she got concerned and tried to find out whether there are good and genuine reasons that may have caused the unrest at Makerere, and thought it reasonable to compare the fees structure for Makerere with that of other universities, only to find out that fees paid at Makerere are reasonably lower than what is charged by its counterparts.
For instance; Uganda Christian University Mukono charges almost three times higher for Bachelors of Medicine and Bachelor of Dental surgery. She also noted that the cost of studying Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and Bachelor of Arts/Science in Education at UCU was double what is charged at MUK. More so, charges for BSWASA, BIFA&D are relatively lower than what is charged at CUU.
She also noted that the students who are at the forefront of protests are the privileged ones sponsored by government, while some of them did not even qualify to be on government sponsorship. She says for those who stir trouble and mislead young minds, there is God the ultimate judge who will in due time punish them.
Mrs. Museveni advised students to desist from being used by unscrupulous people who do not care what happens to them now or in future, and will abandon them as soon as they have achieved their mischievous purposes.
She also advised the public not to quickly judge police interventions in cases like these because it is the duty of government to act upon errant individuals, though she does not condone brutal treatment wherever it may occur.