Malawian students studying at a university in Uganda are not happy to be paying their tuition in United States dollars.
Students at Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) have asked the school to reverse its directive that all foreign students should be paying their tuition in dollars.
The request was made during the new International students welcoming party by the president of International students at the school, Farook Wassie, who is from Malawi.
In his speech, Wassie said that the University should allow foreign students to be paying in Ugandan shillings since they pay a lot of money in dollars.
“Just because we are International students doesn’t mean we are rich. Some of us especially from Malawi are struggling to pay the money in dollars because our parents are poor.
“The school would have had an increased number of International students, but most of them have failed because of this new policy of paying tuition fees in United States dollars unlike in the past when we used to be paying in Ugandan shillings as what Ugandan students do,” Wassie said.
Wassie also asked the university to introduce scholarships for international students as a motivation factor.
In her remarks, Academic Registrar of the University, Dr Halima Akbar, who was also the guest of honour, said that she has heard the concern.
“I have heard your concerns on paying school fees in dollars. Indeed money is a challenge and we need to also consider you on that.
“However, you must also know that the university needs money to run its functions but your concerns are legitimate and we will tackle them accordingly,” Dr Akbar said.
Islamic University in Uganda has students from over eight countries in Africa. Some of the countries are Malawi, Nigeria, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
It was a good reason to complain