17 October 2026 – Students, staff, partners and well-wishers gathered at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Main Campus in Mukono for the Annual UCU Tuition Run, an event that raised over UGX 50 million in contributions and commitments to keep struggling students in school.

Organised by the 28th UCU Guild Government, the run carried a message that every student deserves the opportunity to complete their studies.

The tuition run is organised by the Guild President and his cabinet, with support from the Director of Student Affairs (DOSA) and university management. Proceeds from the run support students who are already enrolled but face unexpected financial hardships midway through their studies.

Speaking at the event, UCU Vice-Chancellor Professor Aaron Mushegyenzi explained who the money is meant to help. Some students have lost the parents or guardians who paid their fees. Others come from families where a breadwinner has lost a job or been disabled in an accident and can no longer provide.

“Because those students are already in their second year, or third year, or fourth year, it pains us to see them drop out of their program,” he said.

In his speech, the vice chancellor thanked Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, Prime Minister of Uganda, who was invited as chief guest, for her generous contribution of UGX 20 million.

Several university offices also made commitments:
Vice-Chancellor’s Office: UGX 15 million
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Finance and Administration: UGX 10 million
Directorate of Student Affairs: UGX 2 million
Communication and Public Relations: UGX 1 million

He also thanked partners, including Uganda Partners for their UGX 2 million contribution, Star Express, Audio Studio, Jibu, among others. He appealed to those who could not attend to donate generously.

Rounding off the day’s activities, Apenyo Bekele and Prisca Waku emerged as the overall best runners in the male and female categories, respectively.

The run is one of several fundraising activities for the cause, alongside a singing and painting competition.

The university’s finance department holds and manages all the funds raised, ensuring eligible students can apply for support. Each year, this system supports roughly 150 students.

For students who might otherwise leave before graduation, this support can mean the difference between completing their studies and dropping out. Those who wish to contribute to the scholarship fund can contact the Directorate of Student Affairs or the 28th Guild Government at the UCU Main Campus.

Written by Irene B. Nyapendi.

Source: Uganda Christian University (ucu.ac.ug). Published on Nymy Net for easy access to the UCU 2026/2027 fee structure.

For further information or enquiries about fees, contact UCU directly.

By Segawa Elvis William
One of the first things Uganda Christian University did when it was established in 1997 by the province of the Church of Uganda was to give its students their own government.

The campus has a way of keeping the stories of its former leaders alive. Ask around long enough, and you will hear them: the former Guild official who is now in government, another who found his footing in business, another making a difference in civil society, and others who simply went on to build good and meaningful lives.

When you hear enough of these stories, it is easy to start imagining that there is something about the Guild office itself, some hidden advantage that comes with winning an election, as though holding it places you on a faster road to prominence.

There is no shortcut. What happens after the election is more ordinary, and more interesting, than that. The office puts a student in rooms they would not ordinarily enter, asks them to carry responsibilities they have never carried before, and forces them to learn things that are difficult to learn in a classroom. To understand why serving is worth it, you first have to understand what the Guild is, what the role demands, and what begins to change once you are inside it.

An Unusual Kind of Student Government
Uganda Christian University handles student affairs in a unique way that differs from most other universities in the country. We do not just have a student union that engages with the administration from the outside. We have a government with a president, a cabinet, a parliament, and a tribunal, and students hold every position in that management.

That arrangement did not start with a campaign promise or a particularly ambitious student body. It is derived from the university’s founding document, the UCU Charter. Section 46 established the Student Guild, a students’ association governed by a constitution drafted in cooperation with the student body and approved by the University Council. The Guild therefore governs under a university-created and recognised authority.

The Guild Constitution makes this relationship further obvious. It accepts the Charter’s authority and makes its provisions obligatory on subsequent officers and structures. The Directorate of Students Affairs (DOSA) remains in charge of day-to-day student matters, while the Charter establishes the institution as the Guild’s supervising authority. It is a system that prioritises intimacy above confrontation. Students are not only asking those who administer the university to listen to them; the Guild provides them with a platform from which to speak while choices are made.

That helps explain why such a small group carries such a large public voice. The Guild usually has between 65 and 70 officials at a time, yet those officials speak on behalf of more than 10,000 students. The numbers alone tell you something about the role. A few people are being trusted with the concerns, expectations and frustrations of a very large student body.

That relationship has also shaped how UCU handles moments that might otherwise become confrontational. When Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi addressed the newly sworn-in 27th Guild Government in November 2024, he spoke about the university’s avoidance of the student strikes that have affected other Ugandan campuses. He explained that the university works with the Guild, rather than around it, to solve problems together. From his very words: “Leadership is a calling from God for a reason and a season.” A Guild office is purposefully designed to be impermanent (temporary). You hold it for a time before someone else takes your place in the chair. What matters, therefore, is what you learn and leave behind while it is yours.

Five Values Behind the Structure
All of this exists inside a specific culture. UCU identifies five values that aim to define university life: Christ-centeredness, servanthood, diligence, honesty, and stewardship. These values become less abstract under Guild government. Servanthood, for example, must resist the urge to enjoy the attention that comes with the job. Diligence must coexist with lectures, tasks, and examinations. When no one is watching, integrity is put to the test, and stewardship is important when the resources in your hands belong to those who have placed their trust in you.

How the Government Is Built
Structurally, the Guild has close to seventy recognised officials at any given time, each with a defined portfolio. Some are elected directly. When the Electoral Commission opens nominations, candidates campaign, and those who win are declared at Nkoyoyo Hall as members of the Guild government.

Most of the other offices are filled through appointment. The Guild president has broad constitutional authority to appoint ministers, deputy ministers, members of the judiciary and the electoral commission. Alongside them are the elected members of parliament, a smaller group of representatives, some of whom may also be brought into cabinet during the term.

What the Office Actually Demands
But the structure is only useful if we also talk about what it feels like to carry it. The easiest way to do that is through people who have actually sat in those offices.

Consider Timothy Kadaga, who oversaw the Guild Run, an annual initiative that raises tuition support for students facing financial hardship. The 2020 edition covered 6 Km around Mukono and attracted Rebecca Kadaga, then Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, as the guest of honour. More than $6,000 was raised for students in need.

Then there is Timothy Ddumba, the 25th Guild President at UCU’s main campus. Among the many projects his administration worked on, Ddumba founded the First Undergraduate Experience in Leadership programme, which later became the FUEL Movement, an initiative seeking to transform the leadership paradigm globally. Yet the demands of the role did not come at the expense of his academic work. Ddumba went on to graduate as UCU’s best male student, with a GPA of 4.64 out of 5.0.

That, perhaps, is one of the less obvious things Guild leadership demands. You do not stop being a student when you take office. You simply find yourself trying to remain one while carrying something else that needs your attention too.

So What Are These Benefits, Exactly?
This is where the question becomes more practical. Beyond the speeches, the campaigns and the excitement of an election, what actually comes with serving in Guild government?

The answer is not one big prize. It is a collection of smaller advantages that begin to make sense when you put them together. Some are tangible. Others are difficult to notice until the term is over.

One of the biggest is access. The Guild president sits on the University Council, giving a student a seat in one of the university’s highest decision-making spaces. It is an opportunity to see how decisions are discussed, questioned and eventually made, while also having a chance to speak for the students affected by them. That kind of exposure is difficult to get from the classroom alone. You leave university having been part of some of the conversations that shape student life, rather than only experiencing the decisions after they have already been made.

There is also the monthly allowance paid to Guild officers as recognition of the extra load they carry alongside their academic work. The exact amount depends on the priorities of each Guild government, since the Guild’s finances are discussed and approved through its parliament within the resources provided by the university. It is useful, but it is hardly the whole story.

Then there is the Guild trip. Governments traditionally travel together somewhere in East Africa before their term ends, although what happens each year depends on what the budget can support. Like many traditions in student leadership, it becomes part official activity and part shared memory.

For the president, a few things are specific to the role. Male presidents are housed in Nsibambi Hall, while female presidents are housed in Sabiti. When the president is male, the Sabiti room typically goes to the vice president, following an unwritten practice that has long been used to balance things between the two top posts.

At the end of the term comes the certificate. Guild officials receive a certificate of appreciation from the university, signed by senior officials. It is easy to dismiss a piece of paper when you are still attending meetings and campaigns, but years later it becomes one of the few physical reminders that, for one season, you were entrusted with something on behalf of your fellow students.

The visibility of the year itself matters too. Many guild governments design branded attire for their administration, which gets worn at functions and becomes part of how that particular government is remembered. It is a small thing, but campus life is made up of many such small things, and years later they are often what make one term feel distinct from another.

Why It’s Worth Standing For
None of these things is, by itself, a reason to run. The allowance can be spent. The trip ends. The room belongs to the next office holder. Even the certificate eventually finds its way into a file. What lasts is the experience that produced them.

Go back to the beginning. Somebody had to be first. Elly Kansiime, UCU’s first Guild President, entered an office that did not yet have a long record behind it, an office no previous Guild president had occupied at UCU because there was no previous Guild president. 27 governments later, the seat has reached Abraham Elomaboni. Between those two names are thousands of students who have passed through the university, and among them are former leaders now working in civil service, government, private business, civil society and elsewhere, as well as many whose lives never became famous but became good nonetheless.

That, to me, is the better case for standing for Guild office. Not that the office will make you important, and not that an election somehow unlocks a secret route to success. It is that the seat gives you an early chance to carry something that belongs to other people. You learn to prepare, to speak, to listen, to make decisions, to account for them and to keep going when the excitement of the election has passed. You make mistakes while the world is still small enough to forgive them, and you discover strengths you might never have had reason to test elsewhere. Then the office ends, as it must, and you carry the lessons with you into whatever room comes next.

The chair does not make the person. But sometimes, sitting in it teaches the person what they are capable of becoming. 28 governments in, UCU is still waiting for the next person to find out.

The writer, Segawa Elvis William, is an alumnus of UCU who served as UCU’s 27th MP for the School of Business and State Minister for Finance and Planning.

Also read: How the UCU Guild Runs and What Leaders Get

Aside from the social media jokes, how much do you really know about the Guild leadership at the Uganda Christian University?

Segawa Elvis William, former MP for the School of Business and State Minister for Finance in the 27th Guild Parliament, takes us behind the scenes of UCU’s Guild leadership, from how it’s run to what comes with holding different positions.

UCU Students’ Guild Structure
Operating under the Director of Students’ Affairs (DOSA), the UCU Guild has three main arms of government: the executive, parliament and the judiciary.

The executive is headed by the Guild President, with the Vice Guild President, Prime Minister, ministers and other officials forming part of the government.

Parliament is led by the Guild Speaker and Guild Deputy Speaker, and includes Members of Parliament (MPs) representing different schools and interests within the university.

The Judiciary, led by the Chief Justice, handles disputes and cases brought before the Guild Tribunal.

The students’ Guild government at UCU varies between 65 and 70 leadership positions at any given time. The Guild term lasts one year, with elections organised and overseen by an Electoral Commission (EC) that operates independently of the three arms. The EC chairperson is appointed by the outgoing Guild President and subject to parliamentary vetting and approval.

Winners of the elections are declared members of the Guild government by the EC Chairperson at Nkoyoyo Hall. However, a larger share of officials take office through appointment rather than the ballot.

The Guild leadership is separate from class representatives, who fall under the university’s quality assurance.

What UCU Students Gain from Guild Leadership
Forget the title and the bragging rights for a second. Holding a Guild leadership position comes with privileges.

#1. UCU Guild Tuition Top-Ups
During the 27th Guild, MPs and ministers got a UGX 200,000 tuition top-up, while the Guild President, Prime Minister, Speaker and their deputies received about UGX 385,000. The amount can vary from one Guild government to another depending on its priorities and budget.

#2. UCU Guild Allowances
Guild officials earn monthly allowances, paid at the end of each semester. In the 27th Guild government, MPs secured UGX 200,000 per month, while the Guild President and Guild Secretary received UGX 300,000.

The judiciary’s allowance is lower mostly because the workload is lighter. Cases arise only when disputes are filed, with complicated matters handled by the university’s legal officer. During the 27th Guild, Segawa recalls the Chief Justice being paid UGX 110,000, while the other justices received UGX 90,000.

#3. Extra Allowances
Because senior officials carry more responsibility, they are entitled to an extra allowance of about UGX 650,000 at the end of the semester, separate from everything else.

#4. Free Meals & Rooms
The Guild President, Vice President, Speaker, Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister of Welfare all get free meals. The Guild President and Vice President also get designated rooms in the university halls.

#5. Travels
Funded through the Guild budget, the entire Guild government takes a regional trip to a neighbouring country; the 28th Guild government travelled to Kenya, the 27th to Rwanda and the 26th to Tanzania. Only the Guild President gets a solo international trip.

#6. Leadership Training & Exposure
For Segawa, the exposure may be one of the biggest benefits. Holding a Guild position opens doors to engage with university administrators, other student leaders and organisations outside UCU. Through partnerships with organisations such as the African Youth Leadership Forum (AYLF) and programmes such as the National Youth Parliament, Guild leaders can access leadership training and opportunities in Uganda and across East Africa.

By the end of their term, they emerge with practical skills in leadership, communication, decision-making and advocacy that can serve them beyond university.

Did you know some of Uganda’s prominent political leaders began their leadership journey as Guild leaders?

Also read; Why Serving in UCU’s Students’ Guild Is Worth It

Kampala International University (KIU) may have won the courtroom battle against Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, but what does the case mean for the university beyond the courtroom?

The 18 June 2026 court ruling was clear. Spire was found to have breached an existing court order and was ordered to pay UGX 10 million or face civil imprisonment, UGX 20 million in punitive and exemplary damages to KIU, plus legal costs. Legally, the ruling settled one part of the story.

But once the court order became public, the reaction took a different turn. On Saturday evening, 8 August 2026, Ugandans on X, led by lawyer Eron Kiiza, who proposed the fundraiser, opposition leader Bobi Wine and fellow digital activist Agather Atuhaire, rallied behind Spire in a fundraising drive that had, by Monday morning, 10 August, reportedly raised more than UGX 30 million.

That raises questions. Was this simply solidarity with Spire, whom many regard as the voice of the voiceless? Frustration with how institutions responded to public scrutiny? Or had the case become about something bigger than the two parties involved?

From the perspective of the public and the university’s stakeholders, if students or staff have complaints, could a case like this make them think twice about raising them? And when they do, where do those complaints go, and how are they resolved?

Legal Rights vs Public Reaction
For KIU and other institutions facing similar criticism, one lingering question remains: when a whistleblowing dispute spills onto social media, does taking those involved to court calm the storm; protect an institution’s reputation, while addressing the concerns at the heart of the dispute, or does it risk adding fuel to an already burning fire?

The KIU case is one of those that renowned digital activist Jim Spire handled in 2025, alongside the #StopAirtelTheft campaign. Using a similar approach as with the KIU campaign, by sharing screenshots of Airtel Money user complaints on his X, the Airtel Money-Jim Spire dispute at one point appeared to be heading towards court action, only to be resolved through dialogue on an X Space that brought together Jim Spire and the team, Airtel subscribers, Airtel Money heads and communications managers.

Could KIU have taken the same route as Airtel? Hmm…. hard to tell. Would dialogue have changed the outcome? We may never know. Will the UGX 20 million awarded to KIU repair whatever damage the dispute has done to its public image? Only time…

Uganda Christian University’s Class of 2026 stands out for three major achievements: it produced the highest number of graduates with First-Class honours in the University’s history, women accounted for the majority of graduates and top academic performers, and the institution continued to emphasise character and integrity as key outcomes of higher education.

A total of 1,274 students graduated during the first session of UCU’s 27th Graduation Ceremony held at the main campus in Mukono on Friday, 3 July 2026. The session marked the fourth of the university’s newly introduced graduation ceremonies, when students receive their qualifications promptly after completing their studies.

A Record Number of First-Class Graduates
The Class of 2026 produced 102 First-Class honours graduates; the highest number recorded since the University’s establishment in 1997.

Women accounted for 60 of the First-Class graduates, while men earned 42. The achievement reflects the strong academic performance of students across different programmes and disciplines.

At the top of the graduating class was Don Acheng, who earned a Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.91. Marvin Tumsiime was the best-performing male graduate, earning a GPA of 4.85 in the Bachelor of Business Administration programme. Emmanuel Nsubuga emerged as the best science graduate after obtaining a GPA of 4.79 in Data Science and Analytics.

Women Lead in Numbers and Academic Performance
Women made up the majority of the graduating class, accounting for 698 graduates (55%), compared with 576 male graduates (45%).

Beyond representation, women also led in academic achievement, receiving more than half of the First-Class honours awarded during the ceremony. Their performance highlights the increasing participation and success of women in Uganda’s higher education sector.

Education with Character
While celebrating academic achievements, University leaders reminded graduates that career success must be guided by values and a sense of responsibility.

The Chairperson of the University Council, Rt. Rev. Prof. Alfred Olwa described graduation as both a celebration and a responsibility.

“Graduation is much more than the conferral of degrees and diplomas. It is a celebration of resilience, sacrifice, and determination,” Prof. Olwa said. “It also marks the beginning of a new chapter that requires moral courage, ethical leadership, and integrity.”

UCU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to apply their knowledge in service to others.

“Today we celebrate 1,274 graduates, including 102 First-Class achievers. As you join the global community, remember that true success is measured by your service to others, your integrity in leadership, and your faithfulness in every endeavour,” Prof. Mushengyezi said.

He urged the graduates to uphold the Christian values nurtured at UCU and use their education to contribute positively to society.

Carrying Forward UCU’s Reputation
The 27th graduation ceremony was presided over by Rt. Rev. Dr Henry Luke Orombi, former UCU Chancellor (2004 – 2012), and was attended by university leaders, parents, alumni, and well-wishers. The event also streamed online.

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, The Most Rev. Dr Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, challenged graduates to maintain UCU’s reputation by demonstrating discipline, integrity, and excellence in their workplaces and communities.

“Go out and represent Uganda Christian University with discipline, integrity, and excellence,” Archbishop Kaziimba said. “Let your character become your greatest testimony, and use the knowledge you have acquired to serve your communities.”

As the graduates move into different sectors, including business, education, public service, technology, research, ministry, and entrepreneurship, the Class of 2026 will be remembered for its record academic performance, strong female representation, and commitment to values-driven leadership.

How Many Graduation Ceremonies Does UCU Hold Each Year?
Uganda Christian University (UCU) holds three graduation ceremonies annually, in July, October, and December. The multiple ceremonies enable students who complete their academic requirements to receive their qualifications promptly.

The short answer is yes. But now that you’ve clicked on this article, you probably know the decision is not that straightforward.

While important, salary is only one part of the equation. Before you hand in that resignation letter, it is worth considering whether that new job will genuinely improve your life, or if it’s simply a higher figure paired with a lifestyle that pushes you into quick loans.

Salary vs Real Living Costs
A higher salary, plus allowances, does not always translate into more money in your pocket.

Imagine you’re earning UGX 800,000 at a workplace where transportation costs UGX 4,000 a day, and meals are provided. Now compare that to a job paying UGX 1.5 million, but requiring higher transport costs, self-paid daily meals, and rent in a more expensive area closer to the workplace.

On paper, the second job pays almost twice as much. Ku ground, the additional expenses, coupled with higher day-to-day costs, could significantly shrink the difference. Depending on your circumstances, the lower-paying job could leave you with a similar amount of disposable income or even more savings in the long run.

This explains why many people earning an average salary in upcountry districts often appear financially stable compared to some higher earners in Kampala. Lower living costs, such as buying the same-sized tomatoes at UGX 300 instead of UGX 700, can make a smaller salary go much further.

Before making a move, calculate your actual monthly expenses, not just your expected income.

The Hidden Cost of a Higher Salary
Money has value, but so does your time.

What does the new employer expect in return for the higher pay? Will you be working longer hours, taking calls after work, or even be required to report on some weekends? Some roles stretch beyond office hours and quietly follow you home, leaving little room for rest, family, and personal space.

You may be comfortable making those trade-offs because the financial reward somehow justifies them. However, Ugandans are increasingly relying on side gigs to cope with the rising cost of living and to create space for savings beyond the main salary, however big it may seem in the first two to three months.

The real question is not whether the new job pays more, but whether it pays enough to justify losing control of your time and ability to build and progress outside work.

Remember, some jobs don’t just take time; they gradually shape your limits, and over time, quietly define how replaceable you become.

Work Environment
Many times, people only appreciate a healthy workplace after leaving one.

A supportive manager, respectful colleagues, reasonable workloads, and clear growth opportunities can make a significant difference to your quality of life. Research shows that workplace conditions can influence job satisfaction as much as compensation itself.

Before accepting an offer, do your homework. If possible, talk to current or former employees of the organisation offering a higher salary.

A higher salary can quickly lose its value if it comes with constant pressure, poor leadership, or exploitative behaviour such as harassment and yelling bosses. Is the new workplace one where you can trust the people around you, or one where you are always on edge?

Career Growth & Stability
Though often overlooked, where is the new role taking you? Will the better-paying job build skills that strengthen your CV or open real promotion opportunities, or does it simply repeat the same old work under a new title?

Does the company feel stable enough for consistent salaries, or do you find yourself waiting for delays and uncertainties?

Sometimes a job pays more because employers struggle to retain staff due to reasons you wouldn’t want to encounter.

There you have it; before the jump, be sure you have a clue about what you are jumping into.

For any country, exports are one of the sure-fire ways to generate income. To bring in some cash by selling some of what it has. For Uganda, these exports have mostly been from the agriculture sector, think coffee, vanilla, among other things. But if you are among the youth, you need no convincing that Uganda, second to agricultural products, exports citizens like no man’s business.

Not only that, pretty much every youth has considered leaving the country, with headlines and media opinions proving Uganda’s youth are increasingly showing their willingness to leave, and others already out… discussion like Life in Uganda Vs Abroad – Is Bwofuna Visa Genda Really the Answer? This got me thinking, can a country earn and get rich from labour export as it would from merchandise?

It sounds like a strange question at first, countries export goods, not people. Or at least that is how we prefer to imagine modern economies. Yet across Uganda today, labour migration has quietly changed from an isolated ambition into something much larger, with thousands of young Ugandans leaving every year for Arab nations, the Gulf, Europe, North America, and pretty much anywhere opportunity appears less hostile than it often feels at home. And in return, a lot of money flows back.

Uganda reportedly received around $2.5 billion in remittances in 2025 alone. That is not pocket change; that is serious economic weight. In fact, remittances now rival some of the country’s traditional export sectors in importance. Entire households survive because one son works construction in Dubai, one daughter is a caregiver in Canada, or one sibling sends money every month from somewhere else in the world. Quietly, Uganda’s labour force abroad has become one of the country’s most important economic engines. The peculiar thing, however, is that we rarely speak about it that way.

To appreciate this, one must first understand the psychology of modern Ugandan youth. For many of us young Ugandans, success increasingly feels geographical. The dream is no longer to fix institutions, build companies locally, or slowly climb the economic ladder at home, but rather, increasingly, to leave: get a visa, a contract, or a scholarship abroad, have an airport photo captioned “new beginnings,” and post TikTok relocation stories. This is evident in WhatsApp groups discussing agencies and passport renewals, and in families fundraising for recruitment fees with the same seriousness once reserved for land purchases. Many simply no longer believe Uganda has the opportunities.

In many circles, leaving Uganda has become less of an extraordinary event and more of a life strategy. And honestly, it is not difficult to see why.

We have one of the youngest populations in the world, but the economy has struggled to generate enough high-paying opportunities for the millions entering adulthood. Degrees pile up, job applications disappear into silence, informal work continues to dominate, and salaries often fail to match the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, social media constantly broadcasts images of relatives abroad seemingly progressing faster, building homes, buying cars, paying school fees, and generally escaping the exhausting mathematics of survival.

That said, we get back to the original question: Can labour export actually make a country rich?

This is where things become complicated. On paper, labour export can genuinely help a country economically through remittances, bringing foreign exchange into the economy. Families spend that money locally, businesses benefit, school fees are paid, houses are built, and medical bills are covered. Some migrants eventually return with savings, skills, exposure, and investment capital.

Countries like the Philippines have spent decades building entire systems around overseas labour, turning migration into a pillar of national economic strategy. In many developing countries, remittances are more stable than foreign aid and sometimes even more reliable than commodity exports.

In Uganda’s case, diaspora money has become something of an invisible social welfare system. When a household cannot survive on local income alone, it is often a relative abroad who absorbs the shock. A hospital emergency, tuition, rent, food shortages, or business capital; somewhere in the background is a migrant worker carrying the financial weight of several people back home. We are all familiar with scenarios of mothers working in the United Arab Emirates to look after their children back home.

That said, for every Ugandan abroad building a successful life, there are others trapped in exploitative contracts, abusive working conditions, isolation, or endless cycles of survival. Stories from Gulf countries, in particular, have periodically surfaced involving unpaid wages, confiscated passports, physical abuse, and recruitment scams that prey on desperation.

And even for those succeeding financially, migration often comes at emotional cost when families are separated for years. Children raised through video calls, parents ageing from a distance, and people spending the best years of their lives in countries where they may never fully belong.

There is also the question of what Uganda loses when its most ambitious young people increasingly see their future elsewhere. From students who leave and often do not return, to the best doctors, nurses, engineers, and IT professionals who leave for other, often more mundane jobs abroad…

Traditionally, economists called this brain drain, the weakening of a country through the loss of skilled citizens. Modern economists sometimes counter with the idea of “brain circulation,” arguing that migrants can eventually return with new skills, global networks, professional standards, and investment capital.

But that only works if a country creates conditions attractive enough for return, which is also a challenge for dear Uganda. Many Ugandans abroad do not necessarily leave with the intention of abandoning home forever. In fact, quite a number still dream of returning someday to build businesses, construct retirement homes, or invest locally. But over time, many also realise that the systems they escaped remain stubbornly unchanged.

The temporary departure then quietly becomes permanent, new contracts signed to continue working overseas, and those who obtain a settlement eventually pull their relatives one by one to join them abroad. This also explains why the largest number of Ugandans abroad tend to support the opposition, blaming the current government for the situation.

The Sovereignty Contradiction
Perhaps the most fascinating contradiction in all this came recently during debates around Uganda’s proposed Protection of Sovereignty Bill, now passed.

The bill, in some of its earlier forms, reportedly raised concerns about how foreign-linked funding and external influence would be treated. Critics feared overly broad definitions could even create anxiety around diaspora-linked activity and foreign financial flows.

That immediately exposed an awkward national reality.

Uganda increasingly depends on money from abroad. Families, businesses, and foreign exchange stability all rely on it. Yet politically, suspicion of foreign influence is growing.

So, while the country wants the dollars from abroad, it is less certain about the ideas, pressures, and political independence that often accompany global exposure. In many ways, labour migration changes more than income levels; it changes expectations too. For example, a Ugandan who has lived and worked abroad often returns with different assumptions about governance, professionalism, accountability, and opportunity. Migration does not merely export labour. It imports perspective. And sometimes, perspective unsettles power.

Political debate aside, economically, labour export undeniably helps Uganda. The remittance figures alone prove that. Millions of families are surviving, progressing, and finding opportunity through migration. To dismiss that reality would be dishonest. But, as a Ugandan, there is something slightly haunting and worrying about a country whose youth increasingly associate prosperity with leaving rather than staying.

Sure, remittances can build houses, pay tuition, and even keep the mukade’s household afloat. But what about the country itself? Can these remittances build nations?

A country ultimately develops not merely when its citizens earn abroad, but when enough people believe their ambitions can still fit within its borders. And perhaps that is Uganda’s greatest challenge today. Not simply creating jobs, but restoring confidence that a meaningful future can still be built here at home.

Until then, the airport departure gate may remain one of the busiest symbols of Ugandan ambition.

The Ministry of Education and Sports has announced scholarship opportunities for Ugandan students to study in India for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The programme, offered by the Government of India, targets undergraduate, master’s, and PhD candidates across a range of fields.

19 PhD Scholarship Slots for Ugandans to Study in India
At the PhD level, available slots include pharmacology (05), petroleum geosciences and production (02), food science and technology (05), education (05), and cyber security (02).

23 Master’s Scholarship Slots for Ugandans to Study in India
For master’s programmes, the scholarships cover computer forensics (05), environmental sciences (04), sports management (02), and MSc natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics (12).

25 Undergraduate Scholarship Slots for Ugandans to Study in India
Undergraduate opportunities include pharmacy (06), civil engineering (06), computer science (05), environmental health science (04), and actuarial science (04).

Eligibility
The Ministry states that applicants for PhD programmes must hold a relevant master’s degree and be under 50 years of age. Master’s applicants are required to have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum CGPA of 3.60, at least two years of work experience, and must be below 40 years.

Candidates applying for science-based undergraduate programmes such as computer science and civil engineering must have studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics at A-level, with at least two principal passes. Those applying for pharmacy and environmental health must have a background in physics, chemistry, and biology with similar grades.

All applicants with foreign academic qualifications are required to have their documents equated by UNEB and the National Council for Higher Education.

How to Apply
Before submitting their applications online through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship portal, applicants must review the official guidelines provided by the ICCR.

All required documents must be uploaded during the online application process.

After submitting online, applicants must print a copy of their application and submit it to Uganda’s Central Scholarship Committee to support the selection process.

In addition, candidates are required to download and complete a local application form from the Ministry of Education and Sports website. This form must be submitted together with the printed online application.

Submissions can be delivered in person to the Department of Admissions, Scholarships and Student Affairs at Legacy Towers on Kyadondo Road in Kampala, or sent via email to scholarships@education.go.ug.

The Ministry said all applications must be received by Wednesday, 15 April 2026.

A shortlist of successful candidates will be published on the Ministry’s website and displayed on notice boards at Embassy House and Legacy Towers on Friday, 24 April 2026.

For more/Source: education.go.ug/…/pdf

Graduates and semi‑graduates, if there is one thing we can almost all agree on, besides the quiet horrors of higher education, it is the internship period. You send out letters, approach directors, and even deliver carefully rehearsed praise about the organisation’s ‘vision’ and your eagerness to learn and gain experience. And if you have ever landed an internship, you need no telling how gruelling it can be, especially since, more often than not, interns in Uganda are unpaid.

Not salaries, not stipends, sometimes not even consistent transport refunds. It is a reality that discourages many, as we noted in our Is Studying Nursing Still Worth It? This got me thinking: If companies can recruit interns as unpaid labour, what stops them from using interns instead of hiring employees? Dear reader, some already do.

Recently, a rather quiet “business model” has been making rounds in Uganda’s private sector. So quiet, it does not announce itself boldly, and it rarely appears in glossy annual reports. It operates through job-seeking WhatsApp groups, university noticeboards, and forwarded Google Forms. If you frequent those spaces, you surely have noticed that every few months, a new call goes out: Internship opportunity. Must be hardworking, flexible, and willing to learn. High absorption opportunity…

Three months later, another advert appears. Then another. The faces change, the work continues, but the structure stays the same. One director. Maybe a finance or admin officer. Everyone else rotates.

This is what many young people have come to recognise, sometimes only in hindsight, as the revolving-door internship model: a system where interns are continually recruited to perform core work, quietly replacing the need for salaried staff.

It begs the question: when did internships become labour? Were they always meant to replace employment? For many young people, internships are supposed to be training periods, a bridge between school theory and work. Short, supervised, and structured periods that prepared us for joining the workforce. In practice, however, many interns find themselves doing work that is neither temporary nor educational.

Social media forums and informal discussions reveal the same patterns again and again. Interns managing social media accounts that generate revenue. Interns writing reports submitted to clients. Interns handling customer support, field operations, content production, and even project coordination. Often unsupervised. Often indispensable.

Now don’t get me wrong, if the tasks are relevant to the intern and proper supervision and guidance are provided, there is nothing wrong. The problem arises when the internship ends and the position does not open up. Instead, a new intern arrives.

One might ask how this model is even sustained. The answer is simple: experience is everything. As young people in different fields, we are often advised by peers, parents, lecturers, and even former interns to endure unpaid work for exposure. To accept facilitation instead of wages. To be grateful for access.

And indeed, in Uganda, this advice is understandable. Jobs are few, graduates are many, and turning down an opportunity feels risky, especially when nearly 90% of hiring notices demand at least 3 years’ experience.

Experience has become the new entry fee into employment, and like any fee, those without financial backing struggle to pay it. However, when experience becomes a currency that replaces wages entirely, what was once a steppingstone becomes a holding pattern.

Experience, after all, does not pay rent. It does not buy data. It does not shorten the distance between internship number three and financial independence.

Understandably, internships are usually unpaid, and only paid when clearly labelled as a paid internship. At some point, however, this shifts into exploitation. Listen closely to how internships are described locally, and you will notice a pattern… Payment is rarely called a salary. Instead, it becomes transport refund, airtime, data, lunch, or the all‑purpose word, ‘facilitation.’ Sometimes it is consistent, often it is not, requiring constant begging and reminders.

Many online discussions show interns negotiating not for wages, but for survival. Can they afford transport to work every day? Will they be reimbursed on time? Is the allowance monthly, weekly, or depending on availability?

Framed this way, its exploitation becomes easy to justify. After all, the intern is ‘learning,’ and that doesn’t account for those who must pay to secure the internship, ending up both providing labour and contributing to revenue.

Companies often defend this system with familiar explanations: we are still growing, funding is limited, once things stabilise, we shall hire. These arguments may hold briefly, but when an organisation operates for years, delivers services, serves clients, and runs solely on rotating interns, the claim of temporality sounds stale. A business that cannot exist without labour but refuses to pay for it is not experimenting; it has settled.

It’s important to note that not every unpaid internship is exploitative; in fact, internships are important and serve a purpose. The problem is that someone always finds a loophole to exploit.

An internship crosses the line when interns replace salaried roles, lack structured training or mentorship, output outweighs learning, or ‘absorption’ is promised but never delivered. Then, it stops being a learning opportunity and becomes free labour.

For interns, the cost is personal and immediate: burnout, delayed independence and repeating entry‑level tasks for years under different titles.

Interns fear being labelled difficult, not to mention universities themselves struggling to monitor placements. Labour protections exist on paper, but rarely reach informal workplaces. Society continues to reward endurance over fairness.

Overall, it becomes easier to say, ‘just endure, this is how internships are,’ than to ask, ‘why is this normal?’

Either way, it’s important to note that internships are not the enemy; exploitation disguised as opportunity is. Uganda’s youth are neither lazy nor unwilling to learn; the system is simply stacked against them.

If internships are truly about learning, we need systems that actually teach and guide. If they are about labour, then let us call them what they are: jobs.

The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) grading system is one of the surest determinants of a student’s next step in life, whether it’s university, diploma programs, or other career paths. Yet the system still confuses many people. Breaking down the UACE grading system in the simplest way possible, this guide is for students, parents, or guardians who might struggle to translate the grades into points.

The UACE Grading System 2025
At UACE, commonly known as A-level, students take a combination of three principal subjects and two subsidiary subjects (mandatory General Paper (GEP) plus either Subsidiary Math or ICT).

The total score is determined by the sum of points from the principal subjects, which add up to 18 points (6 points maximum per subject), plus 2 points from the two subsidiary passes, totalling a maximum of 20 points.

UACE Principal Subjects Grading Scale
UNEB’s UACE principal subjects are graded from A to F, with each grade carrying a specific number of points.

A  = 6 points (Principal Pass)
B  = 5 points (Principal Pass)
C  = 4 points (Principal Pass)
D  = 3 points (Principal Pass)
E  = 2 points (Principal Pass)
O  = 1 point (Subsidiary-level pass in a principal subject)
F  = 0 points (Fail)

UACE Subsidiary Subject Grading Scale
The two mandatory additions: General Paper and either Sub-Math or ICT., are graded differently as below.

Distinction (D1, D2)      = 1 point
Credit (C3 – C6)              = 1 point
Pass (P7 – P8)                 = 1 points
Fail (F9)                           = 0 points

Note: To get the 1 point from a subsidiary subject, you just need to avoid an F9. Any other grade, from D1 to P8, adds exactly 1 point toward your total UACE score (out of 20).

How to Calculate Your UACE Points 2025
To calculate your total UACE score (max 20 points), sum the points from:

• General Paper (GEP): 1 point (if you achieve a grade of D1 to P8).
• Three Principal Subjects: Up to 18 points (6 points maximum per subject).
• Subsidiary Math or ICT: 1 point (if you achieve a grade of D1 to P8).

For Example, Student X scored

Total = 1+ (6 + 5 + 4) + 0 = 16 points

Or

Total = 0+(3 + 3 + 2) + 1 = 9 Points

A ResultCode 5 means the candidate is eligible to receive a UACE certificate.

Understanding Your UACE Points for University Entry
Similar to the secondary school selection process, different universities and courses have minimum UACE point requirements for admission. Below is a general overview of how these ranges usually work.

Competitive degree programs (Medicine, Law, Engineering): 15+ points
Standard degree programs: 8-14 points
Diploma courses: 4-7 points
Certificate courses or other alternatives: Less than 4 points

For more: University Courses in Uganda by A-Level Combination

These requirements can change over time, so the most reliable way to know the cut-off points is by checking directly with your preferred university.

Finally! The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results for 2025 will be released on Friday, 13 March 2026, at 11:00 AM at State House, Nakasero. UNEB confirmed this release on its official X account.

The release of the UACE results will be conducted by the Minister of Education & Sports along with other UNEB officials.

How to Check UACE Results on MTN and Airtel Uganda
Students will be able to check their UACE results via SMS once UNEB activates the service after the official release by sending UACE [Index Number] to 6600 on Airtel and MTN Uganda.

*Confirmed* :

The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education *(UACE)* results for 2025 will be released on Friday, 13th March 2026 at 11:00 AM at State House Nakasero.

The results will be officially released by the Minister @Educ_SportsUg and Sports. pic.twitter.com/JQ1IaEobRO

— Uganda National Examinations Board (@UNEB_UG) March 11, 2026