Socio-Economic Factors and Access to Higher Education in Uganda: A Case of Public Higher Education Institutions in Kigezi Sub Region

This study examined the relationship between social economic factors and access to higher education in Uganda, Kigezi sub-region. Objectives of the study were to find out the effect of gender on access to higher education in Kigezi sub region, to examine the effect of family background on access to higher education in Kigezi sub region and to explore the effect of school attended on access to higher education in Kigezi sub region, Uganda. Convenience sampling was employed to select students while purposive sampling was used to select officials from higher institutions of learning. Self-administered questionnaires and interview guides were used in data collection. The data were analyzed using descriptive and correlation techniques. Descriptive results showed that 93.5% of respondents agreed that gender has an effect on access to higher education, 85.1% agreed that family background affects access to higher education and 75.1% agreed that school attended affects access to higher education. Correlation results showed that gender affects access by 27% (R2=0.27), family background affects access to higher education by 25% (R2=0.25) and school attended affects access to higher education by 13% (R2=0.13). The study concluded that gender is a very essential factor in accessing to higher education in Kigezi sub-region. It was recommended that the government should ensure support social economic emancipation and promote gender advocacy campaigns to help the region break the chains of gender stereotypes that affect access to higher education.