Makerere University has voiced concerns about a significant dropout rate associated with sports betting and gambling.
On Tuesday, the vice-chancellor of Uganda’s oldest higher learning institution, Barnabas Nawangwe, reported that at least 1,000 students drop out annually due to losing tuition fees in sports betting.
The Daily Monitor newspaper quoted Nawangwe as saying, “Our investigations have shown that actually, those people were dropping out not because they failed to pay fees. They got fees from their parents and wanted to invest in betting in order to get interest.”
The vice-chancellor mentioned that some students have been deceiving their parents about their academic progress, even going to the extent of attending graduation ceremonies despite not regularly attending classes.
“They ended up being broke and kept telling their parents stories. And parents don’t hear their names being read in the graduation booklet,” Prof Nawangwe said.
In May 2023, a Makerere University student was reported missing after allegedly orchestrating his own kidnapping and severing communication with parents, relatives, and friends due to losing his tuition in a sports betting scheme.
Augustine Ssekajugo, then a 2nd-year student of Dental Surgery, left his rented room in Makerere-Kikoni and hid in Iganga District. It wasn’t until the police intensified their search and rescue operation that he was discovered hiding in Butama Village, Nakalama Sub County in Iganga District.
