Makerere Extends Student's Registration Deadline

Makerere University has extended the registration deadline for the first semester of the 2023/2024 academic year following numerous appeals by the students. The Academic Registrar's Office has granted a month-long extension for the exercise that was scheduled to stop on September 30, 2023. However, in response to the students' requests and their financial constraints, the deadline has been extended to November 1st, 2023. 

This extension aims to ensure that all students have sufficient time to complete their registration formalities. The decision to revisit the initial deadline was prompted by the concerns raised by students who were at risk of missing out on registration due to insufficient funds to cover the required 60 percent tuition payment. In a statement dated September 29, 2023, Mukadasi Buyinza, the academic registrar, explained that once registered, students would be able to print their financial statements and examination permits, which are essential for accessing examinations in the first semester of the 2023/2024 academic year.

Many first-year students who were interviewed expressed concerns about not receiving financial support from their guardians and being at risk of missing out on registration. According to Makerere University's tuition policy, privately sponsored students are expected to pay 60% of the tuition fees at the beginning of each semester and full functional fees at the start of the first semester.

The policy further states that all students should have paid 100% of the tuition fees by the end of the 6th week of the semester. This posed a challenge for students who had not met these payment requirements, as they were on the brink of missing out on university registration. Kevin Mugabi, Guild Information minister, revealed that a significant number of students had sought assistance from their student leaders, urging the Academic Registrar to extend the registration deadline. 

Many students found it difficult to collect the necessary tuition within the limited timeframe of six weeks, putting their academic presence on campus at risk. Mugabi explained that failure to complete the registration process would result in these students not being officially recognized by the university. Their essential biographical information would not be uploaded to the university system, making them ineligible to sit for examinations as they would be unable to print the required examination permits.

//Cue in: “We wrote to …   

Cue out: … and all that”//