East Africa’s oldest and most prestigious university, Makerere has resumed lectures two months after President Museveni ordered its closure following a strike by the lecturers demanding payment of their incentive arrears.
Shockingly, all the lecturer rooms and halls of residences were open but there were no students. Some halls of residence and lecture rooms were just being cleaned but only a handful of students have reported.
Prof Ddumba Ssentamu, the university vice chancellor, said the lectures have resumed today for the first semester of academic year 2016/2017 and will end on January 29.
READ: Makerere defeats USA’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology at TechCon 2016
Prof. Ddumba said both teaching and non-teaching staff had already reported on duty and are carrying out their respective duties.
He however warned that students are expected to clear tuition before January 16th or miss out on sitting their end of first semester exams.
Prof. Ddumba said: “Paying tuition is mandatory, the policy isn’t mine, the prime minister chaired the meeting and everyone is aware of it. Members of Parliament, students, parents were consulted and whoever tries to go against it will face consequences,” he said, adding that the university was fed up of strikes.”
Last week, the university students’ guild led by the president, Mr Roy Semboga, rejected the new tuition policy deadline, which gives students up to January 16 to pay, insisting both parents and students should be allowed to pay tuition at their convenience since they incurred unplanned expenditures when President Museveni ordered the closure of the university on November 1.
“The vice chancellor seems to say that anyone that hasn’t paid by 16th won’t sit exams. That is very wrong and it isn’t inline with the tuition policy in place,” guild president Roy Ssembogga fired back.
Ssembogga therefore maintains that it is wrong for the vice chancellor to just plainly say the students won’t be able to sit the exams when they have a way out in the tuition policy provisions.
