Makerere University students strike over 100% tuition policy

Police on Thursday morning fired teargas to disperse students of Makerere University who were protesting the university policy of 100% payment of tuition within the first six weeks of the semester.
The university authority had extended the 100% fees payment deadline to Friday March 27.
According to an announcement on the university website, the management held an emergency meeting on March 11,2015 and after consultation with the university council chairperson, agreed to the request from the students to extend the 100% fees policy payment deadline from Friday March 13,2015 to Friday March 27, 2015.
“Management is appealing to the entire students' community to utilise the extension period to register and clear their outstanding dues,” said the Makerere Univeersity Vice Chancellor John Ddumba Ssentamu.
However, students on Thursday Morning went on strike protesting against the policy on claims that it is unfair. The policy bars students from doing their course works which start next week or sitting for exams unless they have cleared all their tuition fees.
Following the strike, the university management and the police are locked in a meeting to discuss the way forward.
This comes barely a week after government sponsored students went on strike protesting the university policy to scrap faculty allowance. The students also accused Prof Ddumba of diverting the funds.
However, in a hasty meeting between the university Vice Chancellor, Prof Ddumba Ssentamu and student leaders, their pleas to have some of the policies revised fell on deaf ears.
“I have not diverted any funds for faculty allowances. The money has not been received because it is simply not there. In any organisation there must be rules and regulations and I am simply implementing what I found on the table and there is no illegality in that,” Prof Ddumba said.