Officers from Uganda Police force were this afternoon engaged in running battles more than 200 Engineering and Medicine students at Kabale University who were protesting against the abrupt increment of tuition from three to four million Shillings.
Police fired live bullets and teargas to disperse the students who are also protesting against a regulation requiring them to repeat for the whole year in case they register a retake in any of the course units.
According to Chris Agaba the Kabale University Guild Vice President, the protest is aimed at showing their dissatisfaction with the increment which he says is not affordable for several student’s, majority of who, are from poor families. He now wants the university administration to revise the tuition structure backwards.
He argues that the decision to make students repeat courses for a year after failing a single course unit is inconsiderate.
Efforts by George William Okello, the Officer-in-Charge of Kabale University Police struggled to calm the angry students down yielded no fruit, prompting the use of live bullets and tear gas to disperse them.
The Communications Officer of Kabale University Judith Atukunda declined to comment on the matter.
Heavily armed anti-riot police are still deployed at the university.
