Following the previous students’ strikes over what was termed as unfair policies, a new fees policy was put in place this academic year.

The university council also passed a new registration policy that requires students to register with the university within the first 10 weeks of each semester.

For the fees policy, each student is required to pay Shs 200,000 in the first three weeks of each semester. This amount is part of the total fees to be paid to the university.

However, some students at the university are still oblivious of the new changes which are now about three months old.

Jeff Twesigye, a third-year student of Ethics and Human Rights who has not yet paid any coin for tuition fees says he is not aware of the registration guidelines.

"It's actually a friend who told me that I can get deregistered in case I have registered and fail to pay 100 per cent by the twelfth week. These changes need more popularisation by the concerned people, especially by the university bursar," Twesige said.

According to the guild president, Roy Ssemboga, its true all the new policies still need to be communicated to students so that they don't misinterpret them. However, Ssemboga noted that the policies are friendly.

"Registration with the university is free for all continuing students in the first three weeks of the semester which gives an opportunity for all students to register even when they haven’t cleared tuition," Ssemboga said.

In an interview with this reporter, Jackie Ayorekire, the assistant bursar at the campus asked the students to embrace the new policies because they enable the administration to budget and plan for them since it is upon the registration numbers that budgeting and planning are based.

"It becomes difficult to plan for the university when students do not register on time because the administration has to wait up to the 10th week when most students are expected to have registered," she said.

Vincent Ekwang, the Academic Registrar College of Humanities and Social Sciences ((Chuss) said they are now planning to meet student at school levels so as to sensitise them about the new policies.

"Some students up to now don't know that they can actually be allowed to do exams with 80 per cent of fees paid," he said.

Earlier in July this year, Makerere University Council, in consultation with the Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, and students' leaders, approved a policy that extended the deadline for paying100 per cent of tuition and functional fees from the the sixth week of every semester to the twelfth week.
It should be remembered that this university has been experiencing violent strikes over this policy that is now to be popularised.