By Godfrey Muhumuza
Educationists in Hoima City have expressed mixed reactions over the government’s move to abolish the automatic merit-based scholarships in its higher education institutions in the country.
Recently the Commissioner of the Education and Research Department Brighton Barugahare revealed the move is meant to respond to concerns that the majority of these scholarships end up benefiting children from wealthy families, particularly those attending elite schools in urban centres.
Barugahare further discloses that the proposed changes are part of the new Higher Education Policy, which is still under review.
Now, education experts in Hoima City who include Geoffrey Beraheru of Ekyobaire Otamanyire, and the Hoima city education officer Johnson Kusiima Baigana are worried that this might further curtail the chances of persons from poor families from ever attaining higher education
Beraheru proposes that the merit-based scholarship and the grants should be used for better management
When asked how the district quarter can chip in, Baigana says it has been a challenge as people decide to educate their children from high end schools and register them to sit for finals in far and distant schools in order to earn these scholarships.
The proposal also includes a stipulation that students who qualify academically but attend schools where fees exceed UGX 3 million should be excluded from consideration.
The policy suggests replacing the automatic scholarship system with a merit-based grant program and if implemented, the system will focus on supporting top performers at the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) level or its equivalent.
