By Our Reporter
A palpable unease permeates Uganda’s most valuable Academic Institution- Makerere University as discontent brews among university staff, who accuse Vice-Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe of treating university professors like casual workers.
The Staff through their Association including the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa), the Makerere Administrative Staff Association (Masa), and the National Union of Education Institutions (Nuei) told this to Nawangwe in a written response dated 3rd October 2023 while responding to the communication he issued at the end of October.
Since assuming the role of vice chancellor nearly six years ago, Nawangwe has faced criticism for his iron-fisted approach, which has resulted in the suspension of staff and students who dare to voice dissent or are perceived as holding contrary views on institutional policies.
Currently, the staff are battling with the controversial Biometric Attendance System, introduced purportedly to enhance staff discipline, particularly regarding punctuality and addressing lecturers allegedly neglecting their duties.
In the communication that he issued last month, Nawangwe said the University still has symptoms of indiscipline among some of the members of staff at Makerere which is depicted through a lack of respect for official tables and creating individual timetables with total disregard for the convenience of the learners, mainly because some of the colleagues are allegedly teaching at other universities or working in other organizations where discipline is strictly enforced.
He was trying to just the controversial implementation of the biometric attendance system purportedly supposed to enforce compliance from University staff. This biometric system will be linked to the HCM attendance module and shall be a physical clock-in system across the University where each staff will have to clock in at their respective duty stations.
In fact, Nawangwe went ahead and warned MUASA against what he described as misleading members of staff into defiance on this matter. “Members of staff are advised to abide by University regulations in order to avoid unnecessary inconveniences. The biometric access system is an administrative arrangement and NOT a welfare issue.” He said
In their joint response, first, the members of the staff asked Nawangwe to stop individualizing Muasa because it is an association not just an individual as Nawangwe purportedly relates to it.
Despite Nawangwe’s warning to Muasa against defying the system, the staff reaffirmed their stance against the implementation of the Biometric Attendance Management System, advocating for alternative, more effective methods of monitoring academic staff performance.
The staff contend that the Biometric system was initiated without adequate consultation, and stakeholder engagement, and will severely undermine the ability of the staff to deliver the mandate of the University.
It is against this background, that the staff asked the Vice-chancellor to stop treating the University staff like casual laborers because such treatments will only see average results.
“Therefore, the future of Makerere University will depend on the University council and management’s ability and willingness to understand and treat staff with respect and dignity as critical stakeholders in the delivery of the core functions of the University.” Reads part of the response
“If staff continue to be treated as casual laborers (shamba boys/girls) please forget about good and or quality results. Therefore, the University council and management have an inherent duty to consult and listen to the policy formulation, decision-making making, and implementation that affects staff.” Reads another part of the response