Victoria University governing council last week decided to let go of a number of lecturers after numerous complaints from the students about the said lecturers “unapproachable conduct”. The latest information about the stand off points to the fired staff unprofessional approach to student’s needs. News emerging from the university indicates that the University’s Guild President wrote to the campus Director Rajiv Ruparelia asking him to take action against lecturers and dons at the institution.
In the letter, the students’ body further claimed that lecturers were not listening to their concerns.
“Our university administrators are no longer approachable. They don’t interact with us to address our concerns,” the students reported.
They further said the dons were coming late for lecturers while others would deliberately dodge duty.
Rajiv was quoted in the media this week as saying he would do everything in his means to restore the University’s glory. He further said his action was premised on the students’ call for intervention. “I will not allow my deans to run the university as they want,” said Rajiv.“The most important people in the university are the students. If the students have written a formal complaint that the deans are not doing their jobs right, what am I to do?” he added.
The administrators had argued that Rajiv had taken over the running of the University operations.
They claimed this was in breach of laws governing tertiary institutions in Uganda.When the dons refused to turn up for duty, they got fired.
“The acting vice chancellor, deans and heads of department resolved not to report for work effective November 1, 2016. Consequently, they have breached their contract of employment and constructively dismissed themselves from the university service,” wrote Dr David Byatike Matovu, the chairman of the university’s governing council.
Some of the officials accused of breaching their contracts are Dr Patience Muwanguzi (Dean of Public Health), Mr Maximus Byamukama (Dean of Faculty of Science and Technology) and Dr Martha Kibuuka-Musoke (Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences).
The University administrators say it’s committed to the advancement of higher education in the country and the East African region by establishing exemplary, specialised and employment-oriented education.
The University’s backbone is backed by the Ruparelia Group which is notable in the education sector in Uganda and has under its portfolio the renowned Kampala International School Uganda and Kampala Parents’ School