By Stuart Bogere Oswald 

Higher Education Student's Financing Board has announced that it has considered students pursuing Tourism and Hospitality Management Programmes to be supported under the Students Loan Scheme.

According to the press release by Micheal O. Wanyama the Executive Director of HESFB, the decision was reached after the hospitality sector was Identified as a fundamental pillar in the economy by National Development Plan.

He says this Loan Scheme, heroes have been ably supported and up to 1000 new Cohort of Students Loan Scheme Beneficiaries in 2022 especially those that wish to study Higher Education but have financial constraints and more finalists.

He encouraged science students that wish to join higher education to apply to any university of their choice (even with 1 Principal Pass) with the Higher Education Certificate Programme.

Wanyama added that the board hopes with the support of training in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector, Uganda will achieve its target to contribute 667,600-1,100,000 employment opportunities to the sector by the NDP3.

Since its inception, HESFB has supported mainly Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics programs except for PDWs who can undertake a program of their choice under affirmative action. These include 3,606 Health and Medical, 3,600 Engineering and Technology, 2,252 Science Education, over 1,000 Agriculture and over 2, 000 other natural science.

The board has also been offering humanitarian programs PWDs including Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy, Bachelor of Education (Special Needs), and Bachelor of Special Needs Education under affirmative action.