900 MUK Lecturers To Meet Museveni
Apr 11, 2004
OVER 900 Makerere University lecturers are tomorrow scheduled to meet President Yoweri Museveni who has convened a crisis meeting to diffuse a strike that has paralysed the university for a week.
By John Eremu and F. Ahimbisibwe
OVER 900 Makerere University lecturers are tomorrow scheduled to meet President Yoweri Museveni who has convened a crisis meeting to diffuse a strike that has paralysed the university for a week.
The meeting, at the International Conference Centre, is expected to bring together all the 943 academic staff who have downed their tools demanding a pay rise and radical reforms in the running of the 82-year old university.
“His Excellency the President has stepped into the on-going crisis at Makerere University and ordered an investigation into the saga where all the academic staff are currently on strike,†State House said in a statement at the weekend.
Dr. Ezra Twesigomwe, the academic staff association chairman, welcomed the meeting but said the strike was still on. “It is a good move and we are eagerly awaiting to listen to him,†Twesigomwe said yesterday.
“He is our visitor and the Head of State so the law allows him to step in whenever there is a problem. But the strike remains in force until the outcome of the meeting,†he said.
The non-academic staff, who have issued an ultimatum of up to April 20, 2004 for their demands to be met or they resume their strike, said they were also awaiting the outcome of the meeting with the President.
The non-academic staff strike preceded that of the lecturers. They, however, called off the strike two days after the university promised to look into their grievances.
Twesigomwe said Museveni’s meeting with the lecturers tomorrow followed the one on Friday.
“That was when the President said he was prepared to meet all the lecturers,†Twesigomwe said.
Twesigomwe said the university had a number of problems and poor pay package was just one of them. “The monetary aspect is immediate but there are other long term changes we have been discussing with council,†he said.
Other sources said the management of funds remitted by the faculties to the central administration was one of the concerns.
Ends
OVER 900 Makerere University lecturers are tomorrow scheduled to meet President Yoweri Museveni who has convened a crisis meeting to diffuse a strike that has paralysed the university for a week.
The meeting, at the International Conference Centre, is expected to bring together all the 943 academic staff who have downed their tools demanding a pay rise and radical reforms in the running of the 82-year old university.
“His Excellency the President has stepped into the on-going crisis at Makerere University and ordered an investigation into the saga where all the academic staff are currently on strike,†State House said in a statement at the weekend.
Dr. Ezra Twesigomwe, the academic staff association chairman, welcomed the meeting but said the strike was still on. “It is a good move and we are eagerly awaiting to listen to him,†Twesigomwe said yesterday.
“He is our visitor and the Head of State so the law allows him to step in whenever there is a problem. But the strike remains in force until the outcome of the meeting,†he said.
The non-academic staff, who have issued an ultimatum of up to April 20, 2004 for their demands to be met or they resume their strike, said they were also awaiting the outcome of the meeting with the President.
The non-academic staff strike preceded that of the lecturers. They, however, called off the strike two days after the university promised to look into their grievances.
Twesigomwe said Museveni’s meeting with the lecturers tomorrow followed the one on Friday.
“That was when the President said he was prepared to meet all the lecturers,†Twesigomwe said.
Twesigomwe said the university had a number of problems and poor pay package was just one of them. “The monetary aspect is immediate but there are other long term changes we have been discussing with council,†he said.
Other sources said the management of funds remitted by the faculties to the central administration was one of the concerns.
Ends