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| Makerere University |
"We want to know the policy and how they have handled its implementation," the chairperson, Sylvia Ssinabulya said Wednesday.
This follows a petition to Parliament by the students complaining about the policy and a host of other grievances they want to see attended to including urgent renovations at the university, accountability of funds, 'dodging' of lectures by lecturers, sanitation and the student's loan scheme.
Several students including the then Guild President, Ivan Kata were arrested and remanded to Luzira prison for participating in a strike against the policy.
Following the unrest the university extended the deadline for students to comply with the 60% tuition fees policy by two weeks from March 8 to March 22.
The tuition fees policy requires privately sponsored students to either pay full tuition fees and register for papers in a semester or clear at least 60% of their tuition fees and register for 60% of their total credit units for that semester.
The vice-chancellor, Prof. John Ssentamu Ddumba had warned that students who fail to beat the new deadline shall not sit for their papers. "If one fails to raise enough money for a full semester load, he can choose courses within the first six weeks and pay for the course load he or she can afford," he said.
The committee meeting with the university council has been scheduled for Wednesday next week.
In the petition to the Speaker of Parliament signed by Kata, the students demanded scrapping of the tuition fees policy with immediate effect.
"We don't want to see a scenario whereby at Makerere private students bear the burden of paying all university bills for all government sponsored students, state sponsored students, all salaries of teaching and non- teaching staff members of the university," Kata said. They called for a commission of inquiry into the income and expenditure of the university.
The petition was copied to the President, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education and the Inspector General of Police, among others.
"We are to mobilise all universities, both public and private to demand from government to use part of oil and natural resources revenue to make university education free to all students/citizens of this country," Kata wrote in a February letter.
They demanded construction of lecture halls to ease congestion in lecture rooms in addition to renovation of Block C, Lumumba Hall. In big lecture halls, they asked that speakers be installed.
They further demanded that private students be given two seats on the university council, with full powers and not as ex-officios.
"The issue of restocking the libraries at the university to make books available for effective service delivery to the students and researchers should be given priority," the students said.
"The issue of sanitation at the university should be given the attention it deserves, by the administration."
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