Students body to MAK VC: Summarily dismissing students is not sustainable
The Uganda National Students Associations has reacted to Makerere University's action of summarily suspending students that are expected to engage in acts that violate the institutions student regulations.
According to a letter signed off by the association president Jothan Yamu Borobuto, the method of dismissing students is not sustainable and portends a danger of "radicalising" the students fraternity instead and this according to him, will lead to unfortunate, unpredictable consequences for Makerere.
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He adds on that a university of Makerere's stature is a society of open expression of mind and opinion, freedom of association and assembly and it ought to be a society of rigorous intellectual discourse.
" We as UNSA (Uganda National Students Association) therefore condemn any and/or all university and other tertiary institutions administrations that gag that freedom of expression. It would be unfortunate if the best black university in Africa created an impression that is not a ground for free expression of mind and opinion and that people are not free to associate accordingly," the letter reads in part
UNSA suggested that instead of dismissal, the university should first design an effective sensitisation campaign aimed at educating the students populace about the consequences of hooliganism to the institution and also engage with some of the rowdy students interpersonally.
"Engage with some of the rowdy students interpersonally and try to understand them or at least make make an attempt to try and do so. You have many of these individuals in your reports and records and it shouldn't be hard to reach out and identify many of them," Borubuto said in a letter.
He however applauded the fact that Professor Nawangwe and the university is hell bent on ensuring that it stamps out hooliganism from the country's oldest education institution.
Makerere suspended three students on September 10th, 2018 in what the university termed as "engaging in disruptive activities and breaching of the University Students Regulations."
