Mak Visitation Committee Report Out Next Week - Rwendeire

The visitation committee investigating causes of strikes at Makerere University is to release its final report in a week's time, Dr. Abel Rwendeire, the committee chairperson has said.

 

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Dr. Rwendeire told URN that the committee will, after presenting its findings to President Yoweri Museveni, hand over the report to the university chancellor for implementation.

 

Museveni is the Visitor, a supervisory role of overseeing management all public universities under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act.

 

Dr. Rwendeire who did not specify the date of its release was responding to appeals by lecturers to speed up the report since the university had declined to pay staff incentives arguing that they were waiting for the visitation committee recommendations.

 

"We have finished the report and are now editing. We shall be releasing it in a week's time to the president. The president is expected to hand it over to the chancellor for implementation," Dr. Rwendeire said.

 

The Rwendeire Committee commenced its work in November last year following the closure of the university at the height of strikes by staff and students. The staff laid down tools over unpaid incentives while students protested lecturers' boycott of lectures. The University would later be re-opened in January 2017 after two months of closure.

 

President Museveni had indicated that the committee would review the reports of earlier committees, find out what was or was not implemented, and make new recommendations, if necessary.

 

The committee undertook a series of international bench-marking visits to find out how other countries and institutions are handling the challenges of managing education in the 21st century, carry out investigations into allegations of gross mismanagement as well as students and staff welfare issues.

 

Eng. Dr. Charles Wana Etyem, the Chairperson of Makerere University Council, last week said the university would not pay staff incentives as they were still waiting for the visitation committee report for action.

  

Dr. Deus Muhwezi Kamunyu, the Makerere University Academic Staff Association-MUASA says that lecturers are not happy with the way council has dilly-dallied on their issues.

 

He says the incentive was introduced by council and it has never pronounced itself on removing it. The staff had been promised six months payment of incentive by July this year.

 

"Majority of us feel that council is transferring its duty to the visitation committee. The committee report was supposed to be out by March this year but they are taking long," says Dr Muhwezi.

 

Dr. Muhwezi revealed that some units have threatened not to teach evening programmes in case the issue of incentives is not resolved before students resume studies next week.

 

"Our appeal goes to the chairperson visitation committee since Council keeps using it as a scape-goat and of course the Visitor who instituted it. We want these concerns that took us to the strike last year addressed," he said.