Busitema University closed over student strike

Busitema University Council has called an emergency meeting to address the current stand off stemming from student allowances.

This council resolved to close the university yesterday following two days of a student strike.

The students are protesting the cutting of their allowances from 350,000 to 250,000 shillings.

According to the council, the university is suffering a serious financial crisis.

Speaking to KFM, the Busia Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hussein Kato Mitanda who will also be part of today’s meeting, the decision to close the institution was meant to ensure security.

This crisis comes days following revelation that Busitema University is operating with only 20% of the required staff.

At Makerere University, staff leaders have called an emergency meeting of all the university staff to discuss their incentives.

The meeting follows the failure by the university management to pay staff incentives for two months with the amount accumulating to over 5 billion shillings.

The spokesperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association Louis Kakinda says some of the university officials have frustrated the efforts of the committee established to find alternative sources of funds for the incentives.

Kakinda says the assembly will determine whether or not the staff members lay down their tools.

The university vice chancellor Prof. Ddumba Ssentamu has often expressed commitment to ensuring that staff is well motivated to avoid disruption of business at the Ivory Tower

Written by Reporter