About 1000 students drop out of Makerere University annually after losing tuition fees on sports betting, Vice Chancellor Prof Baranabas Nawangwe has revealed.
Prof Nawangwe made the remarks on Tuesday March 12, 2024 during an event at the College of Business and Management Sciences.
Speaking during the event, the VC disclosed that the university had conducted a research that revealed most students fail to pay tuition fees after spending money on betting, leading to some of them dropping out of campus.
“Our investigations have shown that actually those students were dropping out because they failed to pay fees.
“They got fees from their parents and wanted to invest in betting in order to get more money,” said Prof Nawangwe.
He added that some students, even after dropping out of campus, continue lying to their parents and even take them to graduation ceremonies when they know they didn’t complete their courses.
“They ended up being broke, and kept telling their parents stories. And parents dont hear their names being read in the graduation booklet,” he said.
He gave an example of how a Makerere University student in May 2023 lied to his parents that he was kidnapped after spending all the tuition fees on betting.
Augustine Sekajugo, who was a second year student of dental surgery left his room at Makerere-Kikoni, went to a hide out in Iganga District and cut off communication with parents, relatives and friends after losing all his fees in betting.
His parents reported the matter to the police, who then launched a search and investigations about the allegedly missing student.
After several weeks of searching, police smoked Augustine Sekajugo from a hideout in Butama village, in Iganga District.
Police arrested him and during interrogation, it was discovered that Sekajugo had rented a room where he was going to start coaching youth on sports.
Meanwhile the VC urged university graduates to move outside Kampala and create jobs instead of complaining that there are no jobs.