Curb violent students’ strikes to avoid losses

The burning of school property by striking students is morphing into a worrying trend. Yesterday, this paper carried a disturbing story where Standard College School, Ntungamo, administration expelled 48 students over their alleged involvement in the burning of a dormitory last week.

Properties of 90 girls who live in part of the hostel were destroyed. On Wednesday, the paper carried another story where students of Kigezi High School in Kabale Town set ablaze the prefects’ dormitory and destroyed property at one of the teacher’s houses.
There have been several other strikes elsewhere. In July, police arrested two students of Old Kampala SS after a violent strike that left seven of their colleagues injured. In August 2016, 10 students of Mandela Comprehensive Secondary School and Ocoko Modern Secondary School in Arua District were arrested over strikes.

There is no doubt that violent strikes take a toll not only on the students, but also schools and parents. In the case of Standard College School, Ntungamo , of the expelled 48 students, 20 of them are Senior Four and Senior Six candidates. The implication is that these students will not sit the national examination, including the Uganda Certificate of Education, which is ongoing. To the parents, this comes as a shock considering how much they toil and sweat to raise money for school fees, registration and general upkeep needed for their studies. On the other hand, schools lose property, time and other resources and this distorts their strategic plan.

But what can be done to tame the increasing students’ strikes? In the first place, the school administration should always be in touch with the students. This can be achieved through establishing effective channels of communication between the administration, the prefects and the students.
Most importantly, schools should sieve and quickly respond positively to the genuine grievances students raise. For example, when they demand electricity, study materials, and a conducive study environment, among others, the administration should sort out or at least explain in good time what plans are in place to fix them.

However, where students make frivolous demands such as insisting that no transfer of head teacher or teacher takes place, that they be allowed to party as and when they want, and that they should be allowed to freely mix with or even host members of the opposite sex, the authorities should remind them about the laid down school rules and regulations. It is also imperative that school administrators nip in the bud plans of strikes by students to avoid destructions.