Makerere ordered to pay Shs 1.7 billion PUJAB fees owed to other public universities

Makerere University has been ordered to remit over Shs 1.7 billion in application fees owed to other public universities after an audit found that it had retained the money collected through the Public Universities Joint Admissions Board (PUJAB) system for years.

Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Central Government, issued the directive after questioning Makerere officials over the outstanding funds, which the Auditor General says accumulated over the past decade.

“Please pay universities what is due to them,” Oshabe told the officials, insisting that Makerere could not treat money collected on behalf of other institutions as its own revenue.

The Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2024/2025 found that Makerere collected Shs 3.030 billion in PUJAB application fees and recognised the entire amount as its revenue, although Shs 1.711 billion was due to other universities.

The report, dated December 22, 2025, recommended that the university expedite the remittance of the funds and warned that recording the entire collection as Makerere’s revenue overstated its income.

According to the Auditor General’s report, the PUJAB application fee is ordinarily Shs 52,000 per applicant. The outstanding amounts attributed to the participating institutions are:

• Kyambogo University: Shs 591 million
• Makerere University Business School (MUBS): Shs 294 million
• Gulu University: Shs 178 million
• Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST): Shs 155 million
• Busitema University: Shs 114 million
• Muni University: Shs 75 million
• Kabale University: Shs 75 million
• Lira University: Shs 75 million
• Soroti University: Shs 75 million
• Mountains of the Moon University: Shs 75 million

Appearing before the committee, Makerere academic registrar Prof Mukadasi Buyinza said the money used to be remitted to the university until 2023, when applicants began making payments through the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

However, Wandera, a representative of the Auditor General, told the committee that although applicants now pay through URA, the money is still channelled to Makerere’s account.

The explanation raised questions about why the university had failed to distribute the funds despite the change in the collection system.

Makerere University bursar Evarist Bainomugisha said the institution budgets for the payments annually and had made some payments in July.

He, however, argued that funds collected through URA were being deposited into the Consolidated Fund, complicating the remittance process.

Oshabe rejected the explanation, saying the Auditor General had established that the money was ultimately channelled back to Makerere.

“You are sitting on their money,” he said.

He demanded to know when the outstanding amounts would be paid, particularly to Kyambogo University, which is owed the largest share.

The committee also heard that Makerere had remitted only about Shs 130 million in the previous financial year, an amount Oshabe considered inadequate given the outstanding obligations.

University secretary Yusuf Kiranda acknowledged the debt and pledged to reconcile the amounts due to each institution before making payments.

“We acknowledge the debt, and we are going to pay all of the money to those universities,” Kiranda told the committee.

He said the university had started making payments in line with available cash releases, although the amounts paid so far were small. Kiranda also said Makerere was engaging URA to have the PUJAB revenue-sharing arrangement incorporated directly into its systems.

The proposal is intended to ensure that each university’s share is recognised automatically rather than being channelled entirely through Makerere.

The committee questioned why the existing revenue-sharing arrangement had not resulted in timely payments. Oshabe insisted that Makerere should transfer the outstanding money without further negotiations, arguing that the university had no discretion over funds belonging to other institutions.

The committee subsequently directed the Auditor General to follow up on Makerere’s commitment and report back to Parliament on whether the university had complied.

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