KAMPALA.The government will this year sponsor 4,000 students at various public universities in the 2026/2027 academic year, with Makerere University and Kyambogo University taking the lion’s share.
According to Prof Mukadasi Buyinza, the Academic Registrar at Makerere University, the institution secured 1,672 slots this academic year, compared to 1,732 students who were admitted under the same scheme during the 2025/2026 academic year.
Prof Buyinza told this publication on Friday that an adjustment is not a cause for alarm, noting that it allows other public universities to accommodate other students. “Many public universities have been established, so we have to share the 4000 government scholarships,” he emphasised.
Records indicate that out of the 4,000 government scholarships given to students this academic year (2026/2027) year, Makerere received 1,672 slots, Gulu University 235, Mbarara University of Science and Technology 205, Mountains of the Moon University 100, Muni University 100, Kabale University 100, Lira University 100, Soroti University 100, Uganda National Institute of Teacher Education (UNITE) 100, Makerere University Business School (Mubs) 388 and Kyambogo University 750 students.
On the issue of cutoff points, Prof Buyinza said they are not tight but have remained comparable to last year. “They have remained comparable to last year. We have noted an improvement in student performance as reflected in their academic grade. The good thing is that students are passing,” he explained.
According to the admissions lists unveiled this weekend, the cut-off points for the Bachelor of Business Administration for both male and female students at Makerere University stand at 48.3 points, while the cut-off points for the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering stand at 50.6 for males and 48.4 for female students.
In addition, the number of male students admitted for various courses, especially in science, outweighs their female counterparts.
At Makerere, for example, of the 130 students admitted for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, 51 are females while 79 are males.
At Mbarara University of Science and Technology, of the 35 students admitted for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, 20 are male, while 15 are female.
The situation is not any different at Busitema University, where seven male students were admitted for a Bachelor of Science in Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery compared to four females.
STEM
According to UNESCO, gender gaps in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Uganda remain a concern despite the government prioritising the sciences, with females making up less than a third of science researchers, and showing lower performance in national examinations.
The Academic Registrar at Busitema University, Dr Lillian Nabaasa, said provisional admissions letters will soon be delivered by email starting Thursday, 30, 2026.