- Prof. Wasswa Balunywa (Left), the MUBS Principal appearing before the Committee with a colleague
MPs on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee have tasked Makerere University Business School (MUBS)to explain how it failed to collect Non-Tax Revenue in form of tuition fees to a tune of over Shs23Bn in 2021.
This followed a an audit query raised in the 2021 Auditor General’s report that revealed that although the University had planned to collect tuition to a tune of Shs56.845Bn in 2020/2021, only Shs33.589Bn was collected, representing a performance of 59.1% of the target.
The Auditor General warned that shortfalls in NTR collections result into an aggregate revenue shortfall at the treasury level which negatively affects the implementation of planned activities at a Government wide level.
Prof. Waswa Balunya, Principal of Makerere University Business School blamed the failure to hit the revenue target on the COVID-19 pandemic where the University had not collected all NTR for semester one and two of academic year 2020/2021 because the students had not registered due to COVID-19 lockdown.
“We have just finished the academic year 2021/2022, actually we are in the process of finishing because exams end this month, but the Financial Year has started, so the money which we would have collected will be collected this year, so in the June Financial accounts, there will be receivables,” said Balunywa.
Asked by Asuman Basalirwa (Bugiri Municipality) if the revenue shortfall won’t be recorded in the current academic year, the University boss also attributed low revenue performance on the pandemic that saw parents and guardians of some students lose employment, adding that even when the students are currently sitting for their examinations, there are some approaching top management to allow them sit for exams without paying tuition because their parents lost jobs and sources of income.
