10/9/2026
Today, minister of Education and Sports John Chrysostom Muyingo, announced that 2,790 needy but brilliant Ugandan children have been awarded study loans for this academic year, as compared to 2,048 in the last academic year. This represents an increase of 36.2%. When we talk about equity and inclusion, I’m particularly happy to report three very negative means I pointed out.
Minister Muyingo
The first one is national coverage. For the first time, every district in Uganda is represented. Every district in Uganda is benefiting from this. There is a district that has historically had low participation, Amudat, Buvuma, Kalangala, Kyenjojo, and so forth and so forth.
They all have beneficiaries this time. This is true equitable access. Secondly, it is about gender parity. Of the 2,790 beneficiaries, 1,400 are female, which is 52.2%, ladies. And 1,390 are males, which is 49.8%. Last year, we only supported 861 females. This year, we have more, almost doubling the number of girls.
We are committed to increasing their number even more. We are working on a talk on girl child education.
Thirdly, people with disabilities. We have awarded 64 students with disabilities, as compared to 45 last academic year, to pursue both science and humanities programs. Because for the PWDs, we removed the restriction of STEM.
Minister Muyingo says, this academic year, the ministry doubled the three-tier loan award, as we explained. I don’t even have to do this, but all I want you to note here is that all districts, all districts have benefited from this program. Ladies and gentlemen, in line with the National Development Plan 4, we have prioritised programmes critical for national development.
Michael Wanyama
Muyingo added that, majority of the beneficiaries will pursue, as we said, the majority will pursue science-based programs. Bachelor of Science with Education, that is taking 581 students. Of course here we know we have the science teachers gap.
We are trying to fill it up by giving more. We have a gap in engineering. We have been able to award 498 students. Computer Science, 313 students. Earth care management and other health services, 281 students. I already told you and I confirm that this year 33 universities are participating, those that are chartered.
And I would like to add chartered and must chartered, that even those who are not benefiting work hard to get a charter. The number of participating universities has continued to grow, and I would like to encourage all private universities to become chartered. You will benefit from this program.
Minister Muyingo told the media, is not donated money. This is a loan, not a grant. Upon completion of your studies and after the one-year grace period, you will be obliged to repay that loan so that your other brothers and sisters benefit from the scheme.
Repayment is critical to the sustainability of this program.
I don’t even need to emphasize that. It is designed as a revolving fund when you repay.
You will be able to help many others. We enable the government to extend support to another needy student.
To those who are elsewhere, to those who have not yet succeeded, I know what you are going through. Of course, we also know that out of 8,000 I needed, we’ve been able to secure resources for 2,709.
And in 90. We could only support 34.8%. The need is still very huge. But the government is committed to mobilising more resources to increase the number as we progress. Finally, ladies and gentlemen,
Today higher Education students’ Financing Scheme, I appreciate your continued support and guidance, and I commend you for the great work you are doing for the education sector. I applaud you for ensuring that the Government of Uganda continues to support brilliant but financially disadvantaged students who cannot afford the cost of higher education.
According to executive Director higher Education Students’Financing Board Michael Wanyama, the demand for student loans has been increasing year by year. This time round, we received a total of 10,615 applications, where above the 7,125 by 3,490 received last academic year. The ministry has worked diligently with the help of our able staff in the Department of Higher Education Students Financing Scheme, who worked tirelessly, often working beyond official hours to accomplish the task on time. I’d also like to welcome and pay special tribute to members of the press for your continued support and for covering the ministry’s events.
The press has given the Student Loan Scheme activities wide coverage for which we are happy. It’s our sincere prayer that you continue to report accurately on matters of education generally and financing higher education in particular.
Wanyama says, it’s now clear that the intended objective of widening and broadening access to higher education is being achieved, as demonstrated by the increasing number of students on the loan scheme. The Higher Education Students Financing Scheme is a department of the Ministry of Education and Sports, established under an Act of Parliament No. 2 of 2014, as amended in 2024. Its mandate is to administer the Student Loan Scheme and to facilitate access to higher education for eligible Ugandan citizens at affordable rates.
According to Wanyama, the objectives of the scheme are to increase equitable access to higher education for all Ugandans, support qualified students who cannot afford higher education, ensure regional balance in the provision of higher education services, support programs which are deemed critical for national development, and ensure a sustainable revolving fund. I want to talk about the call for applications. This year, the ministry invited applications for the academic year 2026-2027 through print media, social media platforms, and by sharing directly with the higher learning institutions.
The call was published on 25th May 2026, with the initial closing date of 17th July 2026. The closing date was however extended to 31st July 2026 to accommodate prospective applicants affected by delayed admissions in some of the higher learning institutions.
This was followed by sensitization messages for the community radio and television stations and extensive engagement through our the social media platforms are proving to be a very effective and cost-efficient outreach tool for sensitization.
Added that applications were submitted online through the Integrated Loan Management Information System as the sole mode for application. The online loan application enabled every student to submit the application from any part of the country. This offered several benefits such as convenience, flexibility, and speed, where applications are processed faster with minimal errors. Allow me to talk about the eligibility into the scheme,
He says that, In line with the law establishing the scheme, the ministry considered the following criteria when approving successful applications: must be a Ugandan citizen, must have been admitted to an accredited program of study, must have been admitted in an accredited or chartered institution of higher learning, must have applied for the loan and fully submitted all the required documents, must be 35 years of age or below at the time of application, must not be a beneficiary of another scholarship or funding program at the time of application, must be enrolled on a program whose annual tuition fees do not exceed the approved cap of 7.6. 7.6 is the annual cap. Must be pursuing an academic program approved for financing under the Student Loan Scheme, and in this case a STEM program.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and also tourism and hotel management program, and this caters for learners who have done arts combination at Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education. Persons with disabilities were eligible to apply for any accredited undergraduate degree or diploma program, including humanities. Consideration was also given to district quota, gender, socioeconomic status, and equity in accordance with the Higher Education Students Financing Act, as amended in 2024.
All applicants were subjected to a uniform scorecard, which considers proxy socioeconomic indicators to arrive at the lending decision. Following the eligibility screening, eligible applications were assessed objectively and transparently using the approved proxy ministerial scorecard that is embedded in the Integrated Loan Management Information System.
And this proxy ministerial scorecard process considered the key variables grouped under the following broad categories: we largely look at socioeconomic background of someone, academic performance, household characteristics, vulnerability factors including disability, orphanage or parental loss, geographical and other affirmative barriers.
These are some of the considerations we look at when we are scoring who should be eligible and successful in getting a student loan. The proxy ministerial score was generated automatically by the system, thus ensuring no human interference. Selection was guided by the principles of merit and financial need, geographical equity, inclusion of women and persons with disability, transparency and accountability, and optimal use of available resources.
Allow me to talk about the number of applications received this year in details. The ministry received a total of 10,615 applications compared to 7,125 received in 2025-2026, and this signifies a growth of 48.9% in the number of applications received.
The loan award selection process was conducted with a national outlook through the district quota system, and this resulted in two registering beneficiaries from all districts of the country.
Districts previously known for low participation rates, such as Amudat, Bugoma, Karangara, Karenga, Kotido, and Moroto, have all presented learners for the support. Following the screening of 8,512 applicants, which is 75.4%, were found to be eligible, implying that 2,610, forming 24.6%, were ineligible.
And when we give you our main report, we have listed down the reasons why the 2,610 did not pass the first screening level, with the majority of these disqualified for submitting incomplete applications, because we require them to attach a number of documents, but you find some of them for one.
Emphasis, at the meeting today for the loan scheme this academic year we increased to 33 from 25 last academic year. And we also fund, of course, students in a host of other diploma awarding institutions. Just for emphasis, we have 11 public universities and 22 private chartered. I want you to mark the word chartered, because we fund students in a chartered university.
Just a brief about the budget for your information. The budget for the first-year students, this is for the first year, and the new cohort, stands at 10 billion 720 million. That had been earmarked to fund a total of 2,400 students, but will now support a total of 2,790 due to the increased number of applicants with a lower unit cost.
As earlier reported, majority of the beneficiaries are learners undertaking Bachelor of Science with Education, which is lower in cost compared to many other programs.
As I almost come to the end, I feel this information is also necessary to the beneficiaries. All successful loan applicants shall be informed through the SMS messages and the Ministry website and other social media platforms immediately the Minister officially releases the results.
All successful loan applicants shall be required to sign loan agreements with the Ministry, and these loan agreements shall be dispatched to the tertiary institutions and administered by the staff of the Ministry.
The total loan amounts, or the loan amounts, shall be disbursed directly to the respective learning institutions after the execution of the agreements. We do not give these funds to the beneficiaries; we remit it directly to the institutions. Since, as earlier said, it’s meant to cover the academic cost. In conclusion, I’d like to pay special tribute to the following: our Honorable Minister, who is here with us, and all the state ministers in the Ministry of Education .
