The dilemma of District quota system

In a bid to make higher education accessible to the poor, the government came up with the district quota system in 2004.
The move was to see each district get an equal number of students admitted on government to Makerere University, Gulu University, Kyambogo University and Mbarara University.

This is a good policy because it’s likely to create equal opportunity for all Ugandans to attain education. Previously government sponsorship benefited students from well to do families. Those well to do families who could manage to send their students to high performing schools, their children had an opportunity to raise high poits for government scholarships.

The government is facing a tough challenge in administering the district quota system because of anomalies in birth certificate. From the start of this programme I though it was going to be an uphill to manage the quota system given poor procedures in acquiring birth and death registration.

Who can tell that Mr. so. and so. Was not born from Katakwi if he can go to Katakwi and bribe the chairman LC1 to get an introduction letter which can help him get a birth certificate of Katakwi district even if he was born from Kampala. Such flaw in the system makes it hard for students from poor families to benefit from that affirmative action

Automatically some students from well off districts will end up conniving with local leaders in poor districts to abuse the policy by forging their credentials and others are likely to disguise themselves as residents of remotely located districts.


In Uganda corruption is at its best students will have to always present forged birth certificates and falsify their districts of origin in order to gain admission on Government-sponsorship. If the whole process was not marred by to many flaws, distict quota system could have brought up an equal balance in education where some students would be forced to join up- country schools so as to compete favorably and get admitted.

I still look sat this as one of the best education policy policy the NRM government has ever produced but the problem is that the government and other politician have failed to sensitize the public the way it works for example some parents in rural areas even don't know that their sons and daughters can be admitted on government, they still have a mentality that government scholarships are for those who are financially well off, academically sound, and most importantly "known".
To day even a student with 10 points who sat his HS from a rural school can be admitted on quota system and that one who scored 22 points from Kampala can miss out. Is there any one to explain such to parents and students who hail from rural areas?
Can the people concerned go back to the drawing board carry out mass sensitization such that the public can help them to identify the culprits?