The Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Jacob Marksons Oboth has urged Parliament to take higher education and innovation funding seriously, stating that Ugx 40 billion for Makerere University’s research is inadequate while other public Universities get about Ugx 1.5 billion only.
Speaker Oboth Parliament should commit to sorting out research funding for all public universities in the next financial year saying that the current funding is not enough as Parliament adopted the Parliament committee’s report on the science, technology and innovation sub-sector.
The Speaker remarks followed a report and oversight discussions led by the Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chaired by Kole North Member of Parliament Dr Samuel Opio Acuti which highlighted deep disparities in research allocations.
The report indicated that Makerere University historically captured a vast majority of public research funds compared to other public institutions and pushed for proper funding for all government tertiary and public institutions such as Mbarara, Muni, Gulu, Lira, Soroti Kabale and Busitema Universities.
