Rubanda West Member of Parliament Bruce Kabaasa Baraba has called for major reforms in Uganda’s public university admissions system, arguing that students from rural schools continue to demonstrate strong academic potential despite joining universities with lower entry grades.
Speaking on a matter of national importance in Parliament, Kabaasa said the district quota system should be reviewed to ensure it provides greater opportunities for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. He cited evidence showing that students admitted through the quota system often perform better academically than some students admitted under the national merit scheme.
"From the time the district quota was introduced in 2005 to date, there is proof that children from rural schools who join university with slightly lower grades outperform those with excellent grades from other schools," Kabaasa told Parliament.
The legislator argued that high entry grades should not be the only measure of a student’s academic potential, saying factors such as unequal learning environments and limited resources in rural schools should also be considered.
He said the introduction of pre-entry examinations for rural learners has challenged the long-held assumption that students from well-resourced schools are always academically superior.
Kabaasa, however, raised concern that the current district quota arrangement has left rural communities underrepresented in science-related programmes, which are critical to Uganda’s economic transformation.
"About 90 percent of students admitted under the district quota are enrolled in humanities courses. As a result, rural communities remain underrepresented in science programmes that are key to the country’s transformation," he said.
To address the imbalance, Kabaasa proposed that Parliament amend the policy to ensure that 50 percent of district quota slots are reserved for science courses, while the remaining 50 percent go to humanities programmes.
The MP also called for changes in the distribution of government-sponsored university places. Currently, 75 percent of government sponsorship slots are allocated under the national merit category, while 25 percent go to the district quota system.
Kabaasa wants the ratio reversed, with 75 percent of government-sponsored places allocated to the district quota and 25 percent reserved for national merit. He further proposed that district quota slots be equally shared between science and humanities programmes.
According to Kabaasa, the district quota scheme currently supports 896 students, and the list of beneficiaries is available for verification.
The proposal has reignited debate on how Uganda can strike a balance between academic merit and equitable access to higher education, particularly for learners from rural and underserved communities who often face structural disadvantages before joining university.
