Kyambogo University VC to meet guild leadership following student protests
Kyambogo University management has explained circumstances under which the student leadership and university management had disagreements that caused protests on Tuesday this week.
Professor Eli Katunguka, the Kyambogo University Vice Chancellor says attempts to get in touch with the Guild President, Kyambogo University Edrine Wafula Koholo even prior to the strike have hit a snug despite several attempts.
He says Wafula first raised the students concerns to the University council on April 27, 2023 where he was asked to put his petition in writing, but says that never happened.
“We have been trying to reach out to this guild president to talk to him because I passed out a circular detailing all this we have done and a circular from council detailing what they told him to do which he has not done, so our attempts to meet the guild leadership have been frustrated. What is unfortunate is for them to continue threatening other students from attending classes,” he said.
This comes after students led by Wafula Koholo held a protest over delayed disbursement of allowances for government-sponsored students and surcharge fees for those who fail to pay tuition on time among others.
Prof. Katunguka says they will hold a meeting between the student leadership and university management to resolve the standoff.
The Vice-Chancellor said that his team is already working on resolving some of the issues raised by the students even before the meeting. He cited the issue of allowances for government-sponsored students being addressed and the university expects the disbursement to be made soon.
Government-sponsored students are entitled to a living-out allowance, which is meant to cover the costs of their accommodation and meals, while those residing in halls of residence are only eligible for a portion of this allowance that caters to their food expenses.
According to Katunguka, the university had budgeted 3.38 billion Shillings for the 2,455 students who are sponsored by the government for two semesters in a year.
However, to compensate for the time lost because of Covid-19, the university implemented a third semester within the same time frame, which was not included in the budget.
Kyambogo University VC to meet guild leadership following student protests
Katunguka said that despite their attempts to secure an extra budget, their efforts were futile until they held a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Finance. The officials recommended that the university utilize the 1.34 billion Shillings that was scheduled to be released to pay the students.
The students are also expressing their dissatisfaction with the surcharge of 50,000 Shillings, which is imposed on those who fail to pay their tuition within the first six to eight weeks of the semester. They argue that due to the adjustments made to the semesters to compensate for time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, some parents have been unable to pay tuition on time as they were affected by the pandemic.
But, Katunguka stated that he had personally advised the guild leadership to petition the university council. However, he noted that the Guild President did not heed his advice and instead called for strikes.
Kyambogo University VC to meet guild leadership following student protests
