By Mulengera Reporters
As part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), that obliges them to give back to the community in which they serve, Cavendish University Uganda (CUU) bosses have unveiled a scholarship program for the 2020 (January, May & August) intake benefiting a total of 60 academically bright but financially-constrained young Ugandans. By the time the last beneficiary will be through with tertiary education, the scholarship program will have cost the University over Shs600m. Beneficiaries will enroll in the January, May and August intake.
Dr. Olive Sabiiti, who serves as the DVC Academic Affairs, says the 60 beneficiaries will benefit from Cavendish’s high quality and life-changing education in the areas of business & management and law as well as Social Economic Sciences. She disclosed that the beneficiaries were identified from the communities where Cavendish University implements a range of outreach programs and activities. And remarkably one of the 60 beneficiaries unveiled during the Friday news conference is the Kabalagala LC1 Chairperson Caroline Nanvuma who at just 22 is reputed to be the youngest LC1 Chairperson in Uganda.
The DVC explained to reporters at the Seyani Campus in Nsambya that the eligibility criterion comprised of having 3 Principal Passes at A’level, having scored the minimum of 12 points at UACE, equally good grades at S4 and one had to pass a rigorous aptitude test that focused on the applicants’ mental alertness and grasp of both mathematics and English-and general knowledge. The beneficiaries will have all their tuition and functional fees catered for implying their respective families will only have to provide accommodation, feeding and transport requirements. The aptitude test lasted for 3 hours making it rigorous. The scholarship program has been on for a while and the pioneer cohort are soon graduating.
Asked about the actual cost this scholarship scheme occasions to the University, Sales & Marketing Director Fredrick Mufta explained it’s actually not easy to quantify the cost in monetary terms. But on being pushed by reporters, he preferred to work with estimates which brings the figure to around Shs600m. Mufta referenced on programs like law or BBA whose average fees per term is around Shs1.6m. This makes it a minimum of Shs3.2m per student beneficiary per year. This means if each child studies for 3 years, the cost comes to Shs9.6m (notwithstanding the fact that courses like law are actually 4 years). Taking a minimum of Shs9.6m per student times the 60 beneficiaries, the cost comes to a minimum of Shs576m which obviously is the very lowest excluding the fact that beneficiaries on the law program, like Chairlady Caroline Nanvuma, will have to be sponsored for actually four and not merely three years.
DVC Sabiiti clarified that much as there is the money element involved, which is a cost to the University, that is not what they consider to be very important but the actual transformation of the young Ugandans through the very impactful teaching and learning that goes on at CUU. She explained that in every intervention they undertake into a student’s career development, emphasis is on ensuring learners are exposed to a brand of education that makes them deeply appreciate values like team work, digital literacy, innovation, creativity and communication skills just to mention a few. See more in pictures taken at the Friday scholarships unveiling ceremony at the Kabalagala/Nsambya-based Seyani Campus. (For comments on this story, call, text or whatsapp us on 0705579994 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).