EAC mulls uniform tuition for varsity students

Kivejinja 

By LEILAH NALUBEGA

Kampala- A move to charge same tuition fees from East African students is being frustrated by some Community members, Ms Jesca Eriyo, the EAC deputy secretary general in charge of productive and social sectors, has said.

Ms Eriyo was speaking at the opening of the regional meeting, Intra-African Talent Mobility Partnership (TMP) programme, in Kampala yesterday.

She said in addition to free movement, students from EAC partner states are to be treated equally.
“We know that some students from within the region are charged in foreign rates which is contrary to what we agreed upon,” Ms Eriyo said.

Centres of excellence have been identified by the Community to enable students acquire more professionals but Ms Eriyo said this cannot be implemented if countries are still charging different fees.

Mr Kirunda Kivejinja, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, said the EAC has made significant strides, including achieving free movement of students from the region.

“The EAC has made some remarkable achievements on the movement of persons and labour key among which are use of National Identification Cards (Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya) as travel documents, use of EAC passports and issuance of gratis students passes, among others,” Mr Kivejinja said.
Mr Kivejinja also emphasised the need for uniform fees in the region.

“If there is a centre for excellence everything has to be the same, except for transport because the objective is to get a concrete mass for East Africa,” Mr Kivejinja emphasised.
In 2014, vice-chancellors from Ugandan universities came out and opposed the proposal for uniform fees, saying Uganda is a free market economy and the matter of fees should be left to individual institutions.

The Intra-African Talent Mobility Programme brings together African States with a major aim of establishing mechanisms and common policies on mobility of professionals, business persons and investors