ICT staff at Makerere lay down tools

Kampala- Makerere University College of Computing and Information Sciences lecturers have now spent two weeks without working, demanding Shs342 million teaching arrears.
The money, which accumulated in 2012/13 academic year was lecturers’ allowances for invigilation, undergraduate supervision and marking of students’ scripts.

According to Ms Maria Roselyn Muzaaki, the college’s communication officer, they have been financially constrained and can’t raise the whole amount but added that they had agreed with the lecturers to return to teach as the college processes at least half of the marking allowances.

Promise to pay
She explained yesterday that the college will be able to pay Shs50 million by next week as part of the Shs100 million the lecturers are demanding as marking allowances.

“We can’t afford to pay Shs342 million at once. We are financially constrained but the college has committed to paying half of Shs100 million in marking allowance by next week and request that the lecturers go back to teach because there is a will to pay them,” Ms Muzaaki said in an interview.

She added that the college will then engage the central administration, including the deputy vice chancellor in-charge of finance and the university bursar, to help them clear the balance.

Students were by yesterday warning that if the lecturers don’t return to class, they will also stage their strike demanding that they get value for their money.