Mak to give govt students Shs4,500 for meals per day
Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe
What you need to know:
A meal at most restaurants on and outside, for instance, Makerere University main campus costs Shs5,000 upwards except at the fringe Kikumi Kikumi eateries across the road, of the north-eastern border.
Kampala. Makerere University is to give each resident student on government sponsorship Shs4,500 for breakfast, lunch and supper per day, officials said yesterday.
Ms Ritah Namisango, the university spokesperson, said the 2,000 students will be paid Shs535,500 directly on their bank accounts for meals for 119 days in a semester.
“We have been outsourcing professional catering [services] and their contract will be ending this semester,” she said, adding that a 2017 survey by the office of the Dean of Students found out that nine in every 10 students preferred to receive cash for meals.
The next semester starts in August and the new food policy will affect both new and continuing students.
In a May 15 circular addressed to all students, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, noted that vice chancellors of all public universities met with State minister for Higher Education Chrysostom Muyingo on May 10 and resolved that the institutions “divest from feeding government sponsored students”.
They also agreed to pay food allowances at the “current rates” so that students can buy meals from caterers of their choice.
A meal at most restaurants on and outside, for instance, Makerere University main campus costs Shs5,000 upwards except at the fringe Kikumi Kikumi eateries across the road, of the north-eastern border.
