Makerere suspends new fees structure
What you need to know:
- Other reasons advanced by the students to justify their strike are; poor Internet connection, missing marks, delayed release of results and failure by management to account and update the stakeholders on MakRun, a fundraising strategy.
Kampala. Makerere University management yesterday suspended its earlier decision to increase fees for selected programmes to end the three-day strike staged by students.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, in an April 18 letter told guild president Papa Were that the new fees structure on selected programmes in the colleges of Health Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Bio Security, and Humanities and Social Sciences had been suspended.
“This is to inform you that following consultations with the chairperson Makerere University Council, it has been agreed that the new fees on selected programmes ...be suspended until consultations are made with the Students’ Guild for their input,” Prof Nawangwe stated in the letter.
Police had since Monday been involved in running battles with students who were protesting the new policies.
Under the new policies, the university had increased tuition fees, abolished evening lectures and end of semester exams.
In his letter, Prof Nawangwe did not address himself to the matter of scrapping meals for students in halls of residence although there are reports that that was left to Parliament to resolve.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Education recently, Prof Nawangwe said the university was scrapping meals and would instead pay a daily food allowance of Shs4,000 to each student.
Mr Were told the students after the meeting that most of the issues had been resolved.
“The only pending issue is that of the meals which has been left to Parliament to resolve. But we shall continue with discussions in quest for our equality in this institution,” he said.
Mr Asan Kasingye, who represented the Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, in the meeting said the deployment will be maintained as long as students continue striking.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed the arrest of Mr Edward Kisuze, Makerere’s senior administrative assistant, who was captured in a sex video with a former student on social media. Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigire said Kisuze is facing rape charges.
OTHER ISSUES
Other reasons advanced by the students to justify their strike are; poor Internet connection, missing marks, delayed release of results and failure by management to account and update the stakeholders on MakRun, a fundraising strategy.
