Five halls of residence to remain closed as Makerere reopens for finalists

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |   Five halls of residence in Makerere University will remain closed as finalists resume studies following the long break because of the Covid19 pandemic.  The affected include Complex, Livingstone, Lumumba, Mitchell halls and off-campus Kabanyoro student’s hostel.

According to university management, the returning students will be accommodated in designated halls on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

Cyriaco Kabagembe, the Dean of Students Makerere University, says the decision was taken to ensure the security of students, management of resources and proper enforcement of the standard operating procedures.   

A total of 11,000 final year students are expected to report between October 3rd and 17th, 2020.  However, the university will only accommodate 1,180 finalists who were residents in various halls. Female finalists will occupy Africa and Mary Stuart halls while their male counterparts will occupy Nkurumah, University, and Nsibirwa halls. 

Medical students will remain at the Mulago-based Galloway Hostel whereas graduate students will remain in Dag Hammarskjold. According to Kabagembe, each room in the selected halls will host a maximum of two students and where possible one student per room.   

The university will provide allowances to none resident government-sponsored students as soon as they report back for studies. According to Kabagambe, before the lockdown, the university had provided at least half of the Shillings 760,000 for each government-sponsored students. 

The returning students are expected to use the first few weeks to complete the work of the second semester that was disrupted by the lockdown. They will thereafter seat their final examinations before the Christmas holidays. 

However, Makerere University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, says no student will be allowed in an examination room without clearing their fees.

Professor Umar Kakumba, the deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of academic affairs, notes that they will move continuing students  to the university’s e-learning platform under the open, distance and e-learning programme that was recently approved by the National Council for Higher Education -NCHE.

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