There was drama at Kitgum town college , in Kitgum municipality on Monday when a head teacher broke down in tears, in front of students while defending himself over accusations of poor leadership.
Micheal Ocan turned heads in amusement when he tried to seek sympathy by shedding rears  during a heated up emergency meeting called to resolve the impasse at the school main hall.

The meeting followed a student’s strike at the school on Friday last week. Senior four students rampaged protesting the delayed issuance of the time table for Mock Examinations that were meant to commence on Monday.

In the meeting, some of the aggrieved senior four and six candidate together with their parents blamed the strike on the poor leadership of the school head teacher. Some of the students said they didn’t have Pre-Mock examinations to prepare them for mock examinations.  They also accused Ocan of swindling money for their remedial lessons and holiday programs. Each student pays Shillings 20,000 each term for remedial leaders and holiday programs. They also allegedly paid Shillings 100,000 each for a study tour in Entebbe last month.

Ocan denied the accusations and broke down in tears while explaining how the school’s financial meltdown has cast him in the spotlight as a corrupt leader that he is not.

He explained that when he took over management a year ago, he found the school indebted in millions of Shillings and unable to meet most of its obligations.  He said the school had accumulated Shillings 377 million in unpaid staff contributions to the National Social Security Fund-NSSF, income tax arrears with Uganda Revenue Authority [URA] and millions in debts to suppliers.

Ocan also noted that the money for the remedial lessons and holiday programs he was being accused of swindling was paid through a select committee of teachers, adding that he never touched a penny.

He acknowledged the Shillings 100,000 that students paid for the field trip, saying it was diverted to pay a loan at Centenary Bank, which sparked outrage from parents and students.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, Ocan said he was being blamed wrongly for sending students home yet their parents didn’t pay fees for the second term, a reason the time table came late.
Reports he submitted during the meeting revealed that 147 out of the 230 students in senior four hadn’t cleared fees accounting for Shillings 25.5 million.

He instead blamed some teachers for instigating the students to strike.

The School Director and Acting Kitgum District Education Officer, Fred Owot admitted that the school has been battling financial difficulties but noted that it wasn’t right for students to meddle in it.

The school has since been temporarily closed and at least 19 students arrested in connection to the strike are still being held at Kitgum Central Police station on charges of malicious Damage of school property. An assessment conducted by the school authorities puts the damage caused by students to the tune of Shillings 68.5 Million.

The school management and parents are currently holding discussions to forge ways of meeting the cost for the damaged properties.