Everyday that passes, you need to thank God if you are at Campus and getting tuition or finished without any tuition worries. Emmanuel Akatuhebwa, a first year student of Computer Engineering at Makerere is struggling to find tuition for his education, just a few weeks away from final exams of the first semester.
Akatuhebwa, registration number 19/U/14202/PS completed his A-Level from Mbarara Army Secondary School, a government aided school attached to Makenke UPDF Barracks in Western Uganda. He was mostly on scholarships for the greater part of his education because he is a bright student but he narrowly failed to make government sponsorship at the university and enrolled as a private student.
“I applied for Mastercard, Test for Uganda and Loan Scheme but I didn’t make it to any scholarship of these organizations. My parents can’t raise even half of my tuition,” a tearful Akutuhebwa told our Reporter.
He commutes from Nsambya everyday where he resides at an aunt’s place for food and accommodation because he could not ordinarily afford to stay near Campus. “I use 1000 in a taxi but most of the distance I have to walk it because my budget can only accommodate 2000 everyday for the to and fro journey” Akatuhebwa added.
Akatuhebwa owes Makerere University Shs 2,544,080 for this semester which he has no clue about where it will come from this semester. It is inclusive of registration and functional fees that all new students pay at the university. For the next semester, his tuition would be Shs 1,815,375.
Asked how he manages to commute from Nsambya everyday at that low budget, Akatuhebwa said he has no other option. “Sometimes I am late for class because of traffic jam whenever it rains in the morning and in such morning I usually enter class soaked because the rain does not spare me” he said.
For any assistance, you can reach out to Akatuhebwa on 0700 580694 or his mother on 0777245218.
