Wednesday, October 22, 2008

MUK Lecturers go on strike

An apparent lecturers strike is slated to mar the opening of the first semester of the academic 2008-09 at Makerere University. With newly admitted first years expected to report on the 16th of August for their orientation week to acclimatise with the new environment before being joined by the rest of the students on the official opening day a week later, on 23rd August.
The row started when the university wanted to introduce a plan to appoint the lecturers on five year contracts basis. Which the lectures through their body, Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) rejected and instead demanded for their benefits first paid before discontinuing their current contracts.
Several meetings have been held but the University management and MUASA seem not to come to an agreement as the opening g of the university draws closer. The lectuers accuse the university of failing to improve on their salaries and teaching materials in addition to diverting money meant for pension.
MUASA deputy chairperson Dr. Paddy Musana said they would not allow a plan that would see over 1500 lectuers’ pact with the University that allows them work until 60 years be cancelled and have them re-apply for five year contracts.
Prof. John Jean Baria a lecturer at the University while on a radio talk show on stated that problems have always been there, stressing that the University being calm does not mean there is no problem. He went on to say that a strike a right one can exercise when ever aggrieved. "You should realise that to withdraw labour is a right which you can use when you are aggrieved" he said.
Prof. Baria also said the problem with the University was that it was both a private and a public University. "This is legally a public university but majority of the students are private, hence most of the money comes from the private students". The public university is funded by government while private students pay for the public institution. He claimed the university was running on a deficit of Shs 50 billion pointing to lack of support from the government. The government has refused to endorse the increase of fees for private students of late, nor does it want government sponsorerd students be burdened to boost the institution financially.
But the university went a head to increase ‘functional’ fees paid by government sponsored students apart from what government contributes. This saw the introduction of development fees Shs.123, 500 and technology fees Shs. 50,000 raising the fee to nearly Shs 200,000 contrary to the shs32,000 previously government sponsored students paid for Identity card, an undergraduate gown, rules book and hospital registration. The government was not pleased with this action.

On the same day Prof. Venacious Baryamureeba the Dean of Computing and IT and also a member of the council said that reports that he was the one leaking information to the media were defamatory and warned of legal implications. "As a Dean and member of the council , I would not benefit from leaking information to the media", he said, " everyone can access such information, even secretaries in Vice Chancellors office where such information is photocopied. Saying that Prof. David Justin Bakibinga who voiced the allegation has been witch hunting him right from the University wall fence saga.
The at MUK crisis started two years ago when government and University management agreed to increase salaries of the staff. The problem has since increased for from just increase of lecturers’ salaries to others. At the beginning of the previous semester, lectuers sat down for two weeks because of what they called lack off teaching materials, like chemicals especially in Science courses..
The opening of the new semester in a week’s time also looks to be surrounded by a lecturers’ strike and the reaction of the students is yet to be seen since in most cases students usually jump in to join the strike which tends to gets violent.

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