By Aggrey Baba
The recent release of university admissions lists under the district quota scheme for the 2025/2026 academic year has exposed disparities in access to university education among Uganda’s regions.
While the scheme aims to promote equity by allocating university slots to students from under-represented and disadvantaged districts, the numbers reveal significant imbalances shaped largely by population size and regional development.
Wakiso and Kampala districts led the admissions under the affirmative action policy, with 20 and 16 students respectively securing placements, far outnumbering districts such as Ntoroko, Otuke, and Kalaki, which admitted only five students each.
This disparity underscores how population-based quotas continue to privilege more populous and urban districts at the expense of smaller, often marginalized rural areas.
“The number of admissions per district is directly linked to the district’s population,” explained Charles Ssentongo, Deputy Registrar in charge of undergraduate admissions at Makerere University,.according to whom, this means that districts like Wakiso and Kampala naturally get more slots due to their large populations.
However, some education experts argue that population size alone should not determine university access under the district quota scheme, saying that relying heavily on population metrics risks reinforcing existing inequalities, because students from less populated but historically disadvantaged regions still face limited opportunities to pursue higher education.
The district quota system, introduced to improve regional balance in university admissions, is meant to complement national merit-based entry and special categories like Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and talented students in sports and the arts.
This year, 25-29% of admissions across public universities were allocated via the quota system, with the rest mainly from national merit lists and private admissions.
Makerere University, which continues to be the largest beneficiary of the scheme, admitted over 10,000 students under government sponsorship for the main campus alone, with an additional 11,000 joining science-based programmes. However, the distribution remains skewed towards districts with better educational infrastructure and more resources.
The announcement also raised questions about the representation of districts with low enrolment. For example, Ntoroko, Otuke, and Kalaki’s minimal admissions could reflect not only population but also limited preparatory education facilities and socio-economic challenges affecting student performance and competitiveness.
Stakeholders have called for a review of criteria to better address these inequalities. Suggestions include weighting admissions based on development indicators or investing more in educational support systems in disadvantaged regions to increase student competitiveness.
Government and university authorities maintain that the district quota system is still a critical tool for advancing regional equity, particularly as Makerere University and other institutions continue to integrate more students from diverse backgrounds. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
