At Least Give Us Shs10,000; Makerere Student Leaders Appeal For Higher Daily Welfare Allowance

Makerere University student leaders have appealed to the Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oboth-Oboth, to consider increasing their daily welfare allowance from Shs4,500 to Shs10,000.

The appeal was reportedly made by student leaders who say the current allowance is not enough to meet their basic needs. They argue that the rising cost of living has made it increasingly difficult for students to survive on the existing amount.

Mutatina Travis Muhwezi, the 92nd Makerere University Guild Speaker, expressed the students’ concerns while appealing directly for an increase in the allowance. “At least give us Shs10,000,” Muhwezi said.

The student leaders reportedly told the Speaker that some students are struggling to afford meals, with the current allowance leaving them facing difficult choices about how to meet their daily needs.

The request comes amid wider discussions about student welfare and the financial challenges faced by learners in institutions of higher education. Student leaders have continued to call for measures that can improve the welfare of students.

The Shs4,500 figure has also appeared in government education-sector records in the past as a daily feeding and accommodation allowance for some government-sponsored students, although the specific current arrangement referred to by the Makerere student leaders would need confirmation from the relevant authorities.

The leaders' proposal would more than double the current amount, taking the daily allowance to Shs10,000. They say the proposed increase would provide students with greater support for their basic daily expenses.

Their appeal places student welfare among the issues being raised by the Makerere University Guild leadership as it engages national leaders and policymakers.

The students are now looking to Parliament and other relevant authorities to consider their concerns and determine whether the welfare allowance can be reviewed.

For the Makerere student leaders, the central message is that students should have enough daily support to access basic necessities without having to worry about going to bed hungry.