Piusantos Enwaru
This year too unexceptionally from the rest has also had its fair share of strikes on the campus scene and am taking the responsibility to eye open those highly ignored cases that have relentlessly culminated into untold strikes around top Universities in Uganda. The reasons more interestingly that bring about the occurrence of these strikes are the same and all cut across but are seemingly chosen to be ignored by the parties concerned. Henceforth when a strike sparks off at a University that prompts the closure of the institution, the investigation carried out to ascertain the reason for the strikes they are more less than the common ones from time to time.
The well-known giants in the strike field are none other than the notorious Makerere University who will only settle their grievances after causing fracas and a little attention seeking from the police and then they will settle to hear their case solved. MUBS too this year broke hell loose when they also championed a strike late this year over issues of course scrapping; Kyambogo University too has had their issues that have called for strikes. Nkumba University was recently closed over strikes by the students from the Entebbe based University.
But a close look into the matter will only lead to the same causes and familiar ones that have always prevailed. In a nutshell of all circumstances, here are the top few outstanding causes that need not to be ignored by the parties concerned if strikes are to be cabbed.
- Abrupt Increment in Tuition and any Charges that are seemingly unfair to the students will spark off the deadliest in any University. Well this has proved to be the most evident reason for breaking out of strikes in Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Makerere University Business School, and Nkumba University, name it. This has caused wide uproar from students whenever a university does so without the consent of the students. When Makerere increased the graduation fee, students turned rowdy and lost their cool and it took the intervention of Gen. Kale Kayihura to calm them down. Implement on that and y’all will see a decline in strikes around varsities
- Lecturers Jamming to attend lectures under the pretext of protesting delay in payments or striking over low payments in salary is another mushrooming effect that is the lead cause of strikes in Universities of late. When they (Students) see no sign of lecturers in the lecture room, they will protest with effect with the ideology in mind of ‘Our Money’, ‘Our Millions’ are being wasted. This will not take them a while to carry out the coordinated strike and break some stuff here and there. Kyambogo University and Makerere University have been victims of such and they have not sat down at nothing but have gone ahead to man up some strikes.
- Poor Services offered by Universities have in a way led to strikes around Universities too. Institutes have very dilapidated structures and these have brood negative feelings amongst students who have resolved to strike in order to air their issues at hand and heart. When government students are promised heaven at campus when they get the sponsorship, they seem to expect a lot but that ceases to be and this causes a stir in them. Poor services such as food provided, arrogant lecturers, poor infrastructures name it will annoy the students and this will make them strike.
- Poor administration too has greatly caused a stir around Universities that has calumniated in a bit of strikes here and there. When I speak of poor administration Kyambogo University will certainly roar with anger because they felt or probably are still feeling the pinch of that. Professor Omollo Ndiyege caused a stir that sparked of a strike from within the staff itself and the students. When MUBS’ management mishandled the issue of scrapping of some courses and merging others later this year, the nakawa based University saw the anger of students because of the poor administration there. This will certainly be a weakness cutting across if at all not checked in due time.
- Love for being Notorious, Culture of the students and norm of life at some notable Universities has relentlessly and rapidly influenced the sparking out of strikes there. The norm at Makerere University is that all strikes start from Lumumba hall and spread like a wild bush fire because Lumumba hall has the most notorious residents at Campus who are extremely rowdy and will identify any opportunity to start a strike with their counterparts in Kikoni making it a notable cultre and normal to strike, MUBS having the famous small gate ghetto will stop at nothing to breed idlers who are waiting at any opportunity to throw a strike with their famous slogan ‘Wewe wewe’ that is a clear habit of chaos. Our brothers and sisters in Kyambogo will certainly wait for holidays to throw a strike because majorty will have to do the last minute chaos and run off as many stay upcountry. So here the accolade of the most notorious University will be taken up by Makerere University who will go to the extent of sending a taxi or two to help their fellows at MUBS strike.
If one has a great sense of fore sight, they will agree with me that all these can be avoidable but with everyone adopting the I- don’t- care- attitude. Then we are in for more strikes and that will give us at Campusbee some work to do and news to bring forth. Just saying
