Why all these school strikes?

By Opiyo Oloya RECENTLY, students were sent home from Kabalega SSS, Bushenyi SSS, Namilyango College, Gulu High School, St Catherine Girls School and now Kibuli Secondary School and others. In the case of St Catherine, the school administration alleged that the expelled students were lesbian. Really! How come nobody was aware of this sexual proclivity prior to the strike? But regardless of the truth, these cases raise some truly disturbing questions about what really is happening to schools in the country. First, are administrators truly paying attention to student needs? Do they make the effort to listen to students without coming across as patronising big daddies? Secondly, why is it that when students are alleged to have committed some criminal acts, they are suspended or expelled without allowing them to clear their names in a court of law? Thirdly, why is it that some Uganda schools never or rarely experience these unrests? Is it because the students in these quiet schools are so goody-goody and therefore not prone to making trouble? Or are the students in the troubled schools so rotten that they fly off in blind rage at the slightest provocation? Based on my experience as a secondary school student in Uganda in the 1970s, a teacher and school administrator in the Bahamas and in Canada, there are individual students who, for whatever reason, will make trouble regardless of the environment they find themselves in. Put them in the best schools with world-class learning facilities, and watch them self-destruct anyway. However, there are students who are industrious, hardworking and law-abiding, but who will rise up in anger because of perceived ill-treatment in the hands of teachers and school administration. These are your so-called strikers, the ones that will bang tables in the dining hall, roll dustbins across the road and, in some cases, trash the school property. To be sure, violence and damage to school property should not be tolerated in the least. But, from my experience, these students tend to cross the line between peaceful protest and criminal behaviour after a series of incidents that school administrators either deliberately failed to address or are too incompetent to comprehend in the first place. Usually, it is the combination of the two — a little bit of arrogance and pomposity coupled with inability to understand the feeling of frustration in the student population. What’s even more galling is that when students try to address these frustrations through dialogue with administrators, they are labelled as lazy bums who are out to cause trouble instead of keeping their eyes glued to their books. Surely, how can you read your science textbook when your stomach is growling? How can you seriously concentrate on your maths problem when your teacher is reeking with the stale smell of lira-lira? How can you have decent sleep when the bedbugs are biting? Compared to Uganda, most north American schools tend to have fewer, if any, school disturbances known as “strikes”, but more crimes committed by individual students such as the shooting at Columbine High which left many students dead. The reason for the general calm in Canadian and American secondary schools is that most students are day-scholars who live at home, and their general welfare is the responsibility of both home and school. The situation is different in Uganda where boarding schools are exclusively in the hands of school administrators. This means that students are totally dependent on the quality of leadership shown by school authorities; the bad ones will make life miserable for students under their care while the good administrators will allow students to flourish and succeed. The problem is that when things go terribly wrong and students rise up in arms, the bad administrators will point accusing fingers at the students. Moreover, students are tried in kangaroo courts and thrown out without being given a chance to speak. As minister of education, you must act quickly to bring some sweeping changes in the way conflicts are resolved in Uganda secondary schools. Recognising that students are rarely given the opportunity to address the issues that are making them upset, you must place an immediate moratorium on all school suspensions and expulsion due to “strikes”. When there is a “strike”, an independent arbitrator appointed by you, will set up meetings with school authorities and students accused of committing illegal actions. It will be the responsibility of the arbitrator to find out what the problem really is and where the blame lies, and then recommend a series of measures to address the situation. If the school administrators are found to be negligent, then they must face immediate sanctions including possible dismissal. Where a student is found to have committed a serious offence, the arbitrator may recommend suspension, expulsion or criminal proceedings involving police. I urge you to rescind all current suspensions and expulsions pending proper hearings by independent arbitrators.