At least 1,000 students of Blessed Sacrament Kimanya Secondary School in Masaka district have been suspended by the school administration over a strike The culprits include senior four, three, and five students.
Management took a decision to suspend the students after a crisis meeting between security, the School administration, and the Board of Governors that was convened to defuse a standoff that had arisen from the student's strike.
One of the teachers who preferred anonymity says trouble started on Sunday night when students in candidate classes rose up against the recurrent power blackouts at the school, which they argued were frustrating their night revision schedules.
It is alleged that although management engaged the students to contain the situation, it triggered a spontaneous strike that resumed on Monday afternoon when students attempted to set ablaze one of the boy's dormitories after they torched a couple of mattresses.
According to Reverend Father Michael Kamulegeya the Education Secretary for Masaka Catholic Diocese, which owns the school, upon assessing the situation, security advised them to temporarily close the school to allow the situation to normalize.
He says the police also decided to commence broader investigations into the incident, saying that their findings will guide management on the next course of action.
The situation became chaotic as antiriot police were forcing students out of the school compound to affect the closure. The students raised their voices with ululations as they accused teachers of highhandedness, administering corporal punishment, and general maladministration that affects their learning.
As they returned home, the rowdy students also demanded the removal of the top administrators whom they accused of being unresponsive to their concerns.