Public universities funding policy and its effects on the management of students' welfare: a case study of Kyambogo University, Uganda

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the effects of the Public Universities funding policy on the management of students' welfare at Kyambogo University, Kampala City Council Authority. Student welfare such as feeding, healthcare, accommodation and discipline has been an integral part of higher education funding since the establishment of Makerere University in 1922. However, since 1992, the government started sponsoring only 4,000 students in total and introduced a policy of cost sharing where private students finance their own welfare and tuition. However, due to financial constraints, it is evident that after struggling to pay tuition these students wonder to find what to eat, pay for accommodation and medical treatment. They buy inferior food and eat in unhygienic places, rent in unsecured places and they mixed up with the locals of various characters at the near by slums leaving their discipline at stake. The study was guided by four objectives which sought to find out the effects of the policy on the management of students' feeding, healthcare, accommodation and discipline. A cross sectional design of interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from 520 respondents out of 24,429 which included 400 students out of 24,000, 100 staffs out 402 and 20 administrators out of 27. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis while quantitative data were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics which included percentages, means and histograms. Major findings revealed that the changed government funding policy had constrained the University financially and as a result it was not able to offer a balanced diet or quality food, satisfactory and quality medical care, self contained halls of residence and spacious lecture rooms. Similarly, it was not able to procure enough furniture or pay for students' welfare although it still offered sufficient quantity of food to students, charged fair medical fee and sufficiently maintained students' discipline. The study recommended that government should reduce financing students' education in Public Universities by a half and uses the remaining money to finance the well fare of all the students in Public Universities. A loan scheme should be introduced together with grants although loan repayment should be well thought, with insurance cover. Since medical treatment is and expensive and a specialized area, government should inject more money in University medical center for students' quality treatment and refer complicated cases to referral government hospital. Government should privatize universities accommodation to allow Universities use the current halls of residence for core academic purposes like teaching and learning only. Both continuing and new students joining the university should be made to buy the missing (requirement) furniture and reprimand those who cause destructive uprising in the university.