Makerere to meet lecturers over strike

By Innocent Anguyo

AFTER two weeks of shunning duty over unpaid allowances amounting to sh342m, lecturers at Makerere University School of Computing and Information Technology have agreed to hold talks with the school’s leadership.

The lecturers are demanding unpaid allowances for marking scripts, invigilation and supervision of undergraduate students in the 2012/2013 academic year.

Initially, the lecturers vowed to continue laying down their tools unless the university cleared all their money. The School insisted that it was cash-strapped and could not meet the demands of the lecturers.

However, with the students gradually becoming twitchy over lack of lectures and threatening to protest if the dons do not resume work, the school today meets the lecturers to discuss a deal that includes paying sh50m out of the sh100m for marking scripts.

Maria Muzaaki, the spokesperson for the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), which houses the cash-strapped school, told New Vision that the lecturers will be given the sh50m by the end of this week.

“Today (Monday) they will meet the dean of the school Dr. Josephine Nabukenya to discuss how to resolve the issue. We have been financially constrained. We cannot clear all the sh342m at once,” said Muzaaki.

Makerere expects the lecturers to resume work today, after the meeting with the Dean of School of Computing and Informatics Technology.

One of the striking lecturers who spoke on condition of anonymity said they will resume work immediately if Dr Nabukenya commits to paying all their money this academic semester.