ON August 23 leading newspapers reported that Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) was going on strike to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the failure of the University Council and the Government to recover their pension funds from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC).

The dispute over the pension funds that NIC owes Makerere employees is undoubtedly one that deserves investigation. The right channels have to be used to ascertain the facts of the matter. However, the use of a strike by the aggrieved party (MUASA) is a questionable matter.

Does MUASA always have to use strikes to have their concerns addressed? MUASA as a body of professionals should move to the status of a complete union with legal representation and power of attorney, such that in the event of predictable and unpredictable grievances, the entire institution does not have to shut down.

Gone are the days when students and their parents were simply latent stakeholders in the business of higher education.

The higher education sector has become commercialised in order to cope financially, which means that the university should be much more accountable to its stakeholders (students and parents).

The academic staff in this instance may have a genuine case with NIC, but does this justify the closure of internal operations within the institution? When the lecturers are not paid, the academic staff understandably resorts to strikes and often time’s students join them.

However, when NIC withholds pension funds, should the students be punished for this? The ‘two wrongs’ are not on a balancing scale. In a number of instances, the tactics used to resolve the conflict have been hidden under a blame game cloak with government and the University Council taking the blame.

However, the academic staff are not fair on the side of the students when they go on strike. A service provider should not abuse the rights of another party in the pursuit of their own.

Concentrating on the interests of one party and blinding oneself of the interests of the other party (students and parents), is not sustainable given the commercialisation of the higher education sector.

Other suitable institutions providing a similar service are waiting and capable of taking on those consumers and providing a more deserving service.

In conclusion, the university should be seen to act out its mandate as a centre of intellectual development of man, not a battlefield.

Africa and Uganda, in particular, needs an educated and conflict-free country to enable her harness her full potential of human and natural resources.

Knowledge is an indispensable component if developing countries are to meet the challenge of unearthing their nations from poverty.

The Makerere University governing body should also endeavour to cater for the interests of their staff and protect the university stakeholders from unnecessary strife, as ‘we build for the future.’

The writer is a PhD student University of Oslo, Norway