More than 400 Hundred students of Fort Portal Clinical officers in Fort Portal have gone on strike protesting what they term as poor administration.
The angry students staged their demo on Monday morning protesting against the newly created examination board, called the Uganda Allied Help Examination Board (UAHEB).
Their principal Robert Tigawarana who is also the Board secretary introduced the board.
The aggrieved students accuse the administration of the increased examination fee from the previous 100.000 to 190.000shs in the introduced examination board (UAHEB). They claim there is lack of transparency and the students and their leaders are being intimidated by the administration whenever they try to raise their grievances.
The angry students say that the examination fee is being banked on a shady bank account with United Bank of Africa (UBA) Fort Portal branch, yet in the past it was deposited in Centenary Bank.
They demand an explanation and want the charged money be implemented after the approval of the governing council and the ministry.
They also want a refund of the computer fees that were charged on continuing students since they have not had any computer services. They also want the library be stocked with new books and laboratory equipped with research materials for practical.
The students are demanding for the immediate transfer of the principal Mr. Robert Tigawarana and change of the administration.
The police was heavily deployed at the school to calm the situation but the students have refused to talk to them.
Mulawa Abdul, the officer in charge of fort- Portal Police station says the students only want to meet and talk to officials from the ministry of education, commissioners for higher education and the RDC Kabarole themselves and not representatives.
The school principal says he had on Sunday evening asked the student leaders to get views from the schools and he clarifies them in general assembly,but was shocked to see them on a sit down strike this morning (Monday).
Tigawarana says no property has been destroyed. He says the students are on hunger strike and have refused to go to class.
In August last year,the students went on strike protesting against the principal who suspended the student leaders for defending the students in some issues where the administration had gone wrong.
