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50 secondary students suspended over strike
One of the students of Angal Secondary school walk towards piled mattresses after they were suspended following the strike over the weekend. PHOTO BY PATRICK OKABA
What you need to know:
- Uganda Human Rights Commission-Arua Office and Life Concern (a local NGO operating in Nebbi and Zombo), have been engaging students to abandon ideas of strike but rather seek peaceful solutions to their grievances.
- They formed debating clubs where most of the discussions have been geared towards having a peaceful school that can perform well in academics and co-curricular activities.
NEBBI. The Angal Secondary School administration has suspended 50 students who allegedly masterminded and involved in a strike that left school property worth millions destroyed over the weekend.
Some of the students were allegedly spotted causing destruction at school.
The school head teacher, Mr Walter Nyeko Otti, said: “The students were against the morning preps that we introduced recently. We also stopped some of them who had turned school premises into market by selling chapatti at night, which was against the school rules and regulations.”
Angal SS is one of the traditional schools that are left in Nebbi District after the splitting of Zombo and Pakwach from Nebbi in 2010. This is the second strike after that of 2015 when school property worth millions was also destroyed.
According to the vice chairperson board of governors, Ms Ida Fuambe, each suspended student will be required to report back with the parent and vetting will be done.
“The community members came in to rescue the property, but their efforts could not yield since students had already destroyed the window glasses, doors of the classrooms and administration block. This act is unacceptable and the parents will be made to pay,” she said.
According to one of the students who declined to be named, the policy of morning preps was overloading students with a lot to think about. He said the morning prep starts at 6:30am and ends at 7:20am which would not give them time to prepare for assembly and other normal lessons.
He added that there was too much suspensions and punishments in the school, which forced them to strike as a way of showing their grievances.
“There were many complaints from students which needed to be addressed by the school administrators, but no action was being taken,” he said.
One of the parents, Mr Albert Oyirwoth, condemned the act saying it will never solve problems.
“The striking students are indisciplined and sometimes they have less respect to their parents, teachers and at the end, they perform poorly,” Oyirwoth said.
Uganda Human Rights Commission-Arua Office and Life Concern (a local NGO operating in Nebbi and Zombo), have been engaging students to abandon ideas of strike but rather seek peaceful solutions to their grievances.
They formed debating clubs where most of the discussions have been geared towards having a peaceful school that can perform well in academics and co-curricular activities.
In 2012 during second term, there were 15 strikes from different schools across West Nile region.
Causes of these strikes were all linked to poor administration, poor student-teacher relationship, and demand to have social amenities like Television and discos.
