By Peter Seebulime
Kalungu West Member of Parliament Joseph Ssewungu Gonzaga has condemned brutal acts committed by police and military officers on Makerere University students who started a peaceful demonstration on Milinday, protesting against a 15% increment on tuition.
Ssewungu said it was uncalled for, for military police officers to beat up students moreover girls who were expressing their dissatisfaction against the University decision of abruptly hiking of fees.
Ssewungu said;”Makerere has been turned into a political center by the Vice Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe who needs to step aside in order to solve the continuous problems at Uganda’s oldest University.”
Students entered the third day of their strike blocking rounds around Kasubi and Katanga, which forced the anti-riot police to use teargas to calm the situation.
Prof. Nawangwe has since suspended 12 students he claims were leading the strike while security has arrested over 100 students along with their leaders for involving in an unlawful demonstration.
On the other hand still in education, Ssewungu expressed disappointment to the state minister for Higher education John Chrysestom Muyingo who issued a a directive that starting 2021 all teachers must be degree holders.
Ssewungu said the quality of Education is not determined by degrees that teachers have obtained but rather the remunerations and motivations to teachers.
He said apparently government neglected all teacher training centers that used to equip student teachers with skills of teaching children thus the poor output of teachers today.
Ssewungu challenged Muyingo to explain to primary teachers who is to facilitate their studies when they receive little salaries and if government will be able to pay them in relation to their qualifications.
He therefore advised government to first set up and empower the teacher training colleges and increase teachers’ remunerations instead of issuing impossible regulations.
However academicians say that having graduates at degree level will bring specialization and quality in the education profession.
