The Minister of State for Higher Education, Mwesigwa Rukutana has revealed that the government of Uganda is set to start supporting skilled students who want to start income generating activities.
He says the move is part of government efforts to review the education sector to produce more job creators and solve the country’s unemployment problem.
Uganda Higher Education Minister Mwesigwa Rukutana
Rukutana says the government has set prepared 20 billion shillings to support students who have proven skills and are ready to start their own income generating activities.
The minister says the government will fund all skilled youths who exhibit proven skills they can exploit to provide goods and service, irrespective of whether they have finalized their higher education degrees or diplomas. The government hopes this will promote skills development and job creation in Uganda.
He told journalists in Kampala that the ministry of Education is also reviewing higher education to require students on all courses in higher institutions of learning in Uganda to undertake at least one year of internship or industrial training in a real work situation in order to gain skills that are relevant to the job market of today.
Rukutana says the new move is a result from concerns by many stakeholders including Uganda Manufacturers Association and the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda that many of the university graduates lack the skills the job market needs.