Each year, between 140,000 and 165,000 students complete A-Level (Senior Six) in Uganda, according to the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), with many of them aspiring to join university or other tertiary institutions. Yet for a large share of these graduates, that ambition ends at the classroom door.
Despite the growing number of secondary school leavers, research shows that less than 10 percent transition to university, with cost emerging as one of the most decisive barriers. Tuition fees in some private universities now reach as high as Shs6 million per semester, placing higher education beyond the reach of many academically qualified students. As a result, access to university is increasingly being determined not by merit, but by financial capacity. This leaves a significant pool of talent unable to advance beyond secondary education, deepening inequality in higher learning opportunities.
Equity concerns
Mr Patrick Kaboyo, the national secretary of the Federation of Non-State Education Institutions, says Uganda’s higher education financing model is increasingly raising concerns around fairness, access, and long-term impact. He argues that while government support through scholarships and the Students’ Loan Scheme remains important, the system is still largely driven by merit-based selection-an approach that can disadvantage students from less-resourced backgrounds.
Mr Kaboyo adds that learners from better-performing schools and wealthier households often have an advantage in competitive selection, leaving equally capable but poorer students behind. ‘We need to ask whether the system is truly reaching those who need it most,’ he says, adding that a stronger focus on financial need would improve equity in public sponsorship. He also raises concerns about transparency, arguing that many scholarship opportunities are not widely publicised.
According to him, better information sharing would widen access and improve trust in the allocation process. Beyond access, Mr Kaboyo calls for a stronger focus on outcomes, questioning whether Uganda is tracking the long-term impact of its investment in higher education. ‘We need to know, for the last 10 or 20 years, who are these beneficiaries and are they adding value to national development?’ he says. He suggests a comprehensive audit of scholarship and loan beneficiaries to assess whether graduates are entering priority sectors, warning that without such tracking, the country risks producing graduates whose skills do not translate into national needs.
Govt financing channels
The government, however, maintains that it is actively working to expand and refine access to higher education funding. Ms Kedrace Turyagyenda, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports, says state support is delivered through two main channels: government scholarships and the Students’ Loan Scheme. ‘As [the] Government of Uganda, we have two main ways of supporting young people who are joining higher education,’ she explains, adding that support extends to both universities and technical institutions.
Ms Turyagyenda says government scholarships are awarded through merit, sports excellence, and the district quota system. ‘Each district has a number of students who can join universities and other tertiary institutions on government sponsorship,’ she says. For students who cannot afford higher education, the Students’ Loan Scheme offers an alternative pathway. The Education ministry’s top accounting officer explains that selection is strictly based on financial vulnerability at the family, community, and individual level. Beneficiaries study under the scheme and repay the loans after graduation, following a grace period.
External scholarships, partnerships
Beyond domestic funding, Uganda also benefits from externally funded scholarships through partners such as the Commonwealth framework, the United Kingdom (UK), India, and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme. Bilateral partnerships have also expanded opportunities, including the Government of Algeria scholarship programme, which recently flagged off 53 students, bringing total beneficiaries to about 253 this academic year. Ms Turyagyenda says such opportunities are first received through official channels before being released to the public. ‘Once we get them, we put them out in the media or on our website, and people compete for them,’ she says. However, she notes that many external scholarships are concentrated at postgraduate level, limiting opportunities for undergraduate students who make up the majority of A-Level leavers.
Rising demand, funding pressure
Despite these interventions, demand for higher education funding continues to exceed available support. The challenge is compounded by broader education financing constraints, even as the government maintains free primary and secondary education under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the Universal Secondary Education (USE) initiatives. Stakeholders note that the capitation grant-currently about Shs20,000 per pupil under UPE-remains insufficient to meet rising operational costs, affecting learning quality and preparedness for university. As more students complete A-Level each year, the financial burden increasingly shifts to families at the most critical transition point. For many, entry into university is no longer determined solely by academic performance, but by ability to pay.
The bigger question
The debate over higher education financing is therefore shifting beyond access to deeper questions of fairness, transparency, and national return on investment. As Uganda expands participation in education, stakeholders argue that the challenge ahead is not only how many students reach university, but whether the system that supports them is equitable, transparent, and sustainable enough to deliver long-term development impact.