KAMPALA, Uganda — The Government of Uganda has approved higher education loans for 2,790 first year students for the 2026/2027 academic year under the Higher Education Students’ Financing Scheme (HESFS).
Acting Minister for Education and Sports, Hon. John Chrysostom Muyingo, announced the awards today Thursday, September 10, 2026, during a briefing at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
The new intake is the 13th cohort since the financing scheme was established under the Higher Education Students’ Financing Act, 2014, which was amended in 2024.
The scheme is intended to increase access to tertiary education for academically qualified Ugandans from financially disadvantaged households.
For the 2026/2027 academic year, the ministry received 10,615 applications, up from 7,125 applications in the previous academic year, representing an increase of about 49 percent.
After screening, 8,005 applicants were found eligible, while 2,610 were deemed ineligible. Incomplete documentation was among the major reasons for disqualification, with 1,452 applicants failing to submit all the required documents.
Of the 2,790 students selected, 2,019 will pursue undergraduate degree programmes, while 771 will pursue diploma programmes.
Female students slightly outnumbered male students among the beneficiaries, with 1,400 women representing 50.2 percent and 1,390 men representing 49.8 percent. The number of female beneficiaries increased from 862 in the previous academic year.
The scheme also selected 64 students with disabilities, comprising 46 males and 18 females. The students will receive additional support for specialised learning aids and appliances where necessary.
The financing scheme continues to give priority to science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes, alongside courses such as tourism and hotel management.
The largest number of beneficiaries will study Bachelor of Science with Education, with 581 students, followed by engineering with 498, computer science with 313 and health care management with 284.
Students were selected using a three tier model that allocates 30 percent of the available places according to district quotas, 30 percent according to the share of eligible applicants from districts and cities, and 40 percent based on socio economic vulnerability.
The selection also considered academic merit, financial need, geographical equity, gender and disability status. Applicants’ vulnerability was assessed using a Proxy Means Test scorecard through the Loan Management Information System.
The Government has allocated Shs 10.720 billion to finance the new cohort. The original plan was to support 2,400 students, but lower than expected unit costs enabled the Government to increase the number of awards by 390.
The loans will cover tuition, functional fees and research fees, with payments made directly to the respective institutions rather than to the students.
The annual loan limit is Shs 7.6 million, meaning programmes whose costs exceed the limit will not receive funding under the scheme.
The number of participating universities has also increased from 25 in the previous academic year to 33 this year. The institutions include 11 public universities and 22 private chartered universities, in addition to diploma awarding tertiary institutions.
Successful applicants will be notified through SMS, the Ministry of Education and Sports website and its official social media platforms. They will be required to sign loan agreements before funds are released to their respective institutions.
Muyingo also thanked beneficiaries from earlier cohorts who have started repaying their loans, saying recoveries are important in sustaining the scheme and enabling more students to benefit in the future.
Since its establishment, the HESFS has supported more than 16,000 students between 2014 and 2024. However, demand for the loans remains high, with the number of students qualifying for tertiary education continuing to exceed the number the Government can finance.
