The Rubanda West County Member of Parliament, Honorable Bruce Balaba Kabaasa, has called for sweeping reforms to Uganda’s district quota admission system for public universities, arguing that students from rural schools consistently outperform their counterparts admitted under the national merit scheme despite joining with lower entry grades.
Speaking during the plenary sitting on Tuesday, Kabaasa said evidence since the introduction of the district quota system in 2005 shows that students admitted from rural schools often excel academically once they reach university.
He noted that pre-entry examinations introduced for students from rural schools have demonstrated that the current definition of “merit” does not fairly reflect learners’ potential.
He urged Parliament to review the admission policy to ensure that the district quota system not only increases access to higher education but also enables students from rural areas to pursue courses that contribute directly to national development.
Kabaasa who is also the deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and a Member of the Public Accounts Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) expressed concern that about 90 percent of students admitted under the district quota are enrolled in humanities programmes and proposed that at least 50 percent of district quota slots be reserved for science courses.
He also clarified that the current district quota benefits only 896 students, adding that the additional students referred to by the Minister are beneficiaries of the Higher Education Students’ Financing Scheme, who receive loans that must be repaid and should not be counted as government-sponsored students.
Kabaasa proposed a major shift in the allocation of government-sponsored university admissions, recommending that the district quota be increased from the current 25 percent to 75 percent, while the national merit category be reduced from 75 percent to 25 percent.
He also called for the 75 percent district quota allocation to be equally shared between science and humanities programmes.
CUE IN MP KABAASA….ON THE MATTER….ENG//
