Following a strike that happened towards the end of last semester at Makerere University, the Guild Representative Council instituted a 7 member committee to analyze the university administration’s decision to hike tuition by 91%, as well as abolishing meals in halls of residence.
The 7 member committee travelled across various universities around the region including University of Nairobi, Uganda Christian University, Gulu University among others to benchmark how the said institutions have been managing situations like tuition increment.
The committee then came up with a report which it officially handed over to the Makerere University Council Chairperson Dr Charles Wana-Etyem in the presence of both the guild president, Were Salim and the University’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe.
In their report, the Guild representative council committee suggested a number of issues fronting a 15% tuition increment across all programs as the major recommendation. The report suggests that the 15% increment should only apply to new students effective with the academic year 2018/2019 for the next 5 years totalling to 75% instead of the earlier suggested 91%.
Among other recommendations, the student leaders also suggested that part of the resources should be deployed to the renovation of Mary Stuart Hall before the new academic year commences, a suggestion that the University Council agreed upon.
The University Council Chairman Dr Charles Wana-Etyem responded to the report by saying the council will hold an emergency meeting within a week to address the student leaders’ recommendations. “I think we will be able to call for an emergency Council meeting in a week and we will be able to call you regarding the outcomes of the meeting,” Dr Charles Wana-Etyem told the student leaders shortly after receiving their report.
The Makerere Guild President Papa Were Salim noted that they expect the University council to put their recommendations into action since they add up to the University’s revenue. “We don’t want a scenario again where we are going to face more confrontations just because our recommendations have not yet been put in place yet we have given them due time.
With this recommendation, we are making an effort to seeing the revenue increased and this should at least be reciprocated in the services that students are going to be receiving.” Were said.
In the same report, the student leaders also suggested that the Guild President and his Vice should be allowed more participation on the committees of the council that relate to student issues including quality assurance and student welfare.
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