Amudat and Karenga are the only districts that have not benefited from this year’s student loan scheme.
625 students successfully made it on the final list of the 2022 Higher Education Students Financing Board (HESFB).
Speaking to Journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, John Chrysostom Muyingo, the State Minister of Higher Education said that the two districts failed to produce students in sciences who managed to be admitted to Universities in science courses.
“Passing is one thing but passing and getting admitted to University on science course is another, the HESFB did its best to sensitize the masses but we are thinking about coming up with affirmative action on these two districts,” he said
To solve the issue of sacred sciences, Hon. Muyingo said that the government has constructed a secondary school in each sub-county and equipped them with science teachers and all other equipment.
23 students living with disability (5 females and 18 males) are among the beneficiaries of the loan scheme.
Of the 625, 518 students (83%) are degree students, while 107 (17%) are diploma students.
“I am happy to note that the 625 Beneficiaries being added to the Scheme today increases the number to 13,405 loan beneficiaries,” he said, adding,
“With the government of Uganda Sponsorship Scheme only able to support 10,000 learners on both Diploma and Degree programs, the Loan Scheme was introduced to enable our most needy students to access funding under a loan arrangement and create a sustainable funding model,”
Dr. Charles Wana-Etyem, the newly appointed Chairperson of Governance on the HESFB said that they received a total of 3,089 applications as compared to 6,256 applications received in the academic year 2021/22.
“Of the 3,089 received applications, 2,417 (78%) were eligible for the Scheme. Of these 1,854 (77%) are male while 563 (23%) are female,” Wana-Etyem said.
He added that the decline in applications by 51% was due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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