Editor,

I am totally supporting the East Africa Community Students Union’s (EACSU) call to harmonise the tuition fees charged by universities to students from within the bloc.

Its extremely sad that, while we are removing customs barriers and the like, some universities and other institutions of higher learning are still over charging students from EAC member countries, regarding them as foreign students.

Why should a Rwandan student have to pay as much as an Egyptian student to study in Makerere University? It doesn’t make sense.

However, it wouldn’t also make sense if only a few universities did so, while others didn’t. It would put some universities at a disadvantage financially.

Therefore, while we cannot force private universities to make such changes, I’m on the view that all the public universities, which receive government funding, should put in place a special EAC rate.

Such a rate would encourage student mobility, giving them more experiences and competitiveness. It would be a win-win situation.

Sam Rwego
Kimihurura