A former Director of Studies at Buhobe Secondary School has called on the Ministry of Education and Sports to intervene in a dispute over the handling of applications for government university sponsorship under the Public University Joint Admissions Board (PUJAB) programme. Moses Wanyonyi Guyoni says only the Education Ministry can resolve the matter and find a solution for the 14 students affected by the alleged failure to submit their PUJAB applications.
Wanyonyi was one of two teachers arrested on August 11 in connection with allegations surrounding Shs910,000 paid by the students to facilitate their applications for government sponsorship. The other suspect, Patrick Onyango, is the school’s current Director of Studies.
The arrests followed a directive by Busia Resident District Commissioner Hajira Namagogwe after Justine Bizibu, one of the affected students, complained that he had missed out on government sponsorship despite performing well in the 2024/2025 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations.Wanyonyi was later released from Busia Central Police Station on police bond. Speaking to journalists after his release, Wanyonyi distanced himself from the handling of the students’ PUJAB applications.
Wanyonyi said the alleged failure had affected bright students from poor families who cannot afford to pay university tuition privately. He appealed to the Ministry of Education to find a way of accommodating the 14 students in public universities.
One of the affected students, Bizibu, scored 18 points and had hoped to pursue his childhood ambition of becoming a doctor. Bizibu said he travelled to the PUJAB offices at Makerere University to follow up on his application, only to discover that his name was missing from both the national merit and district quota lists.He said he then returned to Buhobe Secondary School to establish why he had not been considered and discovered that the PUJAB forms for the affected students had allegedly not been submitted, despite each student paying Shs65,000.
Bizibu said he subsequently sought the intervention of the Busia RDC. His mother, Caroline Chakuwa, said the family had been relying on her son’s academic performance to secure a government-sponsored university place because they cannot afford to pay his tuition.
Anthony Wanyama, the Busia District Education Officer, said it may now be difficult for the affected students to secure sponsorship through PUJAB unless the school re-registers them under the current programme. He said the students could alternatively consider applying under the government student loan scheme.
Wanyama condemned the alleged failure to submit the students’ applications, saying it could jeopardise their future. The allegations against Wanyonyi and Onyango remain under investigation-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
