Denis Peter Nabende, a Makerere University student currently pursuing a Masters in Journalism and Communication has accused the Makerere University estate department of unfair treatment when they denied him a student parking access card because he drives a car that is not registered in his names.
According to Nabende, he applied for a student parking access card on September 24, 2019, but was told by the department officials that he could not get it because the log book of the vehicle was not in his name.
“A staff informed me that this was part of the requirements on top of a copy of the driving permit which should be in the names of the registered car owner as well,”Nabende said.
The bitter student penned down a letter to the university top leaders where he indicates that it is unfair for the university to assume that every individual fully owns the car they drive.
“What happens to students who drive cars given to them by an acquaintance for the duration of their study or one who drives a company owned or allocated car? Would they be required to pay for parking tickets for the duration of their study? How would such a case be handled?” Nabende asks.
Apparently, Nabende spends an average of five hours a day and four days a week at the university but he is forced to pay shs3000 every day he reports for lectures, which he believes is unfair to a student.
The disgruntled student also wondered how the car owner would be of interest to the university.
“You can for instance make use of a common identifier which is the centrally allocated student number. This would be linked to the specific number plate that the student presents at registration for the semester long access card. This way, you will have linked the student to the car plate since it is the student who has interest in accessing the university and not the car owner. Why must ownership of the vehicle be of interest to the university? Must all students own the cars they drive?” He further asked.
