‘Right to education’ closes university

“‘Right to education’ closes university” read the headline in my mind after strike action led to the closure of East Africa’s oldest and possibly most prestigious university. Firstly, I have to question the quality of lecturers at Makerere University in Uganda who would rather see their institution burn (metaphorically of course) than work for less money. Secondly, I have to question the quality of education students, who think violence is an appropriate action in defending their ‘right to education’, have been getting.

Africa’s lack of appropriately skilled graduates has been talked about all over that place so I am going to have a look at this ‘right to education’ stuff.

Lecturers should be the first to agree that this right is important, especially given the amount of tutoring time that has been invested in them. After all, academics probably have more access to knowledge and training than many top government advisors. With this comes a certain responsibility – these lecturers are certainly intelligent and capable individuals, but they didn’t get there alone. While I do not expect lecturers to work for a pittance, I do anticipate that they will make sure that some of what was invested in them is reinvested to create a new and larger intellectual power-house.

The two questions that this poses is whether academics are earning too little and whether students’ right to education is being met, especially at a tertiary level. The 100 percent pay rise request may seem unreasonable, given that inflation has been in single digits for over a decade, however, pay increases are often ‘forgotten’ for several years. The area which may be cause for concern is that lecturers are asking for more than five times annual per capita earnings of $1 800. This seems a little excessive given that good academics should be earning additional income from their extracurricular research activities and effectively prices their services beyond the means of most Ugandans. So much for the ‘right to education’.

As for the students’ ‘rights’, I’m at a loss as to how the country’s educated elite could think hooliganism was acceptable in this case. I’m not saying that well-informed individuals aren’t violent, but I’d expect their actions to at least be well-reasoned and rational given that universities are meant to inculcate these kinds of skills. Making a mess of your university and your city is not likely to encourage lecturers to return to teach. If these scholars applied their teachings and still concluded that this was appropriate, then perhaps lecturers should be asking for less, not more.