Last week, Gulu University students went on rampage, setting their main hall on fire, in protest at the late delivery of exam results for the last semester.
The hall is a multipurpose building, also used for lectures, as well as offices, especially the one held by the university spokesperson. Police were called in to intervene and fired tear gas and bullets to disperse the irate students. Unfortunately, they were unable to save the damaged property.
However, the matter has many perplexed as to what could have incensed the students to such a level as to set the university main hall on fire. The argument that the delayed release of exam results irritated the students to that point defies logic. As someone would ask, will the building rise out of the ashes if the results are finally released today?
It is understandable that the students were frustrated by the delays. However, it also follows that the academic registrar’s office may have genuine reasons for delaying the release of results. Officials at the university have indicated that the academic registrar was keen on ensuring the highest quality assurance system in processing the results.
That fact that these arguments were dismissed by the students now leaves the university in a dire situation. Apart from releasing the results, the university now has the task of refurbishing the building.
It is plausible that the refurbishment will cost the university much more than anticipated, and that this cost will also be passed on to the striking students. At this point, one is then led to ask whether the strike action was worth the task, considering that it was cheaper to leave the main hall building intact.
school@observer.ug