Nkumba University students today morning protested the hiked fees that the University administration had imposed on them. According to some students who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that they met the university administration including the newly appointed Academic Registrar Christine Obonyo and Dean of students Kasasa Christopher today at 6.30am to negotiate and repeal all the hiked fees but unfortunately they ignored their plea.
Out of anger and frustration the students turned rowdy and thus resorted to rioting. According to a student who was part of the Student Negotiating team revealed that the Academic Registrar told them that she couldn’t drop the hiked fees.
Another student revealed that the Academic Registrar arrogantly told the students that university policies shouldn’t be dictated by the students.
Some of the hiked compulsory fees that the academic registrar has introduced include sitting for a missed exam has been hiked from Shs 20,000 to Shs 100,000, Retake fees have been hiked from Shs 100,000 to Shs 200,000. The academic Registrar also introduced a late registration dead line which has the students have protested while students who don’t clear their tuition fees on time a compulsory Shs 50,000 would be charged for late payment.
“She introduced the late registration exercise overnight and many of us we haven’t been aware that the deadline was yesterday November 16. She should have told us in the first week of the semester but introducing these new policies just overnight its totally being unfair” a student told entebbenews.
There hasn’t been a deadline for registration and paying tuition. Another student who spoke to entebbenews revealed that four staff in the accounts department including the bursar where terminated after they connived with some students to defraud the university.
“The Administrators are being paid poorly that’s why they connive with students. Nkumba University now has an acting bursar after the recent one was terminated over gross financial loss. They (accounts department) connive with some students and defraud the university” a student revealed to entebbenews.
“The University discovered in an audit after the total amount of money received was low yet the number of students who had purportedly paid tuition was high” a source disclosed to entebbenews.
Efforts to talk to the university Academic Registrar and university Administration proved futile since they had locked themselves up in their offices and left the nasty situation for the police to handle.
Meanwhile the students have vowed to continue with the riots until when the University officially come out and talk to them. “Unless the University administrators come out officially to address us we shall not stop rioting. “It is totally being unfair that there is no University administrator to address the students. We are battling the students with teargas and rubber bullets” a police officer said
The students blasted Current Guild President Julius Byaruhanga for conniving with the Administrators to impose the hiked fees on the students. He reportedly told the rioting students that he was in Mbarara though some students revealed that he too had gone into hiding.
The students who are scheduled to begin their exams on Wednesday 20th November have been put on halt until further notice.
The rowdy students have broken lecture room windows, damaged and broken windows of the university bus in addition to looting nearby shops and kiosks. Some students have been arrested by the police that have totally sealed off the university.
Police has been able to contain the situation though the students have vowed to continue protesting.
