By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
Appeals by 1881 students who missed out on the initial selection process for student loans under the Higher Education Students Financing Scheme have fallen flat.
The 1881 students had appealed for consideration because they qualified and were requesting the Ministry of Education to consider them as well.
However, in a press statement dated Thursday, 11th December, 2025, and signed by Dr. Kedrace Turyagenda on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, the Ministry says although the appellants had merit, they couldn’t be considered because the available budget for FY is insufficient.
“The Ministry wishes to inform all appellants that the appeals could not be considered due to budget constraints. This decision is purely financial and does not in any way undermine the merit or urgency of the appeals submitted,” reads the statement in part.
The Ministry says going forward, they are advocating more funding to ensure that additional eligible learners can benefit from the scheme in future.
Higher Education Students’ Financing Scheme is established by an Act of Parliament-the Higher Education Students Financing (Amendment) Act,2024, to provide Loans and Scholarships to Ugandan Students who wish to pursue Higher Education in recognized Higher Education Institutions, but are unable to support themselves financially. The scheme is managed by the Ministry of Education and Sports under the Higher Education Students Financing Department.
The Ministry of Education and Sports in June, 2025 invited applications for study loans under the Students’ Loan Scheme from eligible Ugandan students who had been admitted in their first year in the Public Universities, and Private Chartered Universities .
Approved Programmes for Support in the Academic Year 2025/26 are; Agriculture & Conservation Sciences, Engineering, Laboratory Science Programmes, Human Medicine and Health Care Management Sciences.
Others are; Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Animal Sciences, Oil and Gas Engineering, Science Education, Special Needs Education, Statistics, Computer Science and Information Technology, Pure Sciences and Tourism and Hospitality Programmes.
