Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, the vice chancellor of Makerere University, has defended the university’s investment plan launched early this week.
Some people have said the plan is ambitious and unrealistic but Nawangwe, while featuring on NBS TV’s Morning Breeze, said it is achievable if everyone plays their part.
He said the $ 2 billion plan shall make the university financially stable and will span a period of 10 years.
He said Makerere operates at a Shs 100 billion deficit annually.
With the plan, this deficit shall be a thing of the past.
According to the plan, the university guest house shall be turned into a 3-star hotel with a convention centre to attract international conferences into the university.
He said the university plans to build state of the art hostels under the public private partnership.
“At the land in Kololo we are looking at a 5-star hotel, upper market hostels in Makindye, and a teaching hospital in Katalemwa” Nawangwe said.
Professor Nawangwe said the university revenue now stands at Shs 80 billion a year, money that cannot sustain the institution.
Currently the university admits close to 20,000 students yet only about 14,000 pick their letters, 12,000 report to the university and about 10,000 who register drop out along the way.
“Even if all the private students paid their fees in time, we would still have a deficit. Some of them are re-takers and not full time students” Nawangwe said.
The unending strikes at the university have also put off many potential students who instead enrol at other universities.
