This morning, I was driving from Mbale enroute Kampala. On reaching Jinja, a group of young boys at a public transport stage flagged me down. Curious, I stopped to establish why they had stopped me and after exchanging pleasantries, I allowed them in for a free ride so as to save their money for Namawojjolo chicken.
While on the way, I asked multiple questions in order to build rapport, soon, the students opened up and narrated their ordeal. I confirmed that they were friends and had travelled from Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala to pick their recommendation certificates from Jinja College where they had sat for their Uganda Certificate of Education in 2025.
However, they were bounced because they had not paid a penalty fee of 150,000/= to compensate the school for the damage caused when they went on strike in October last year. That they were additionally expected to pay another 10,000/= for their testimonials which money they did not have and had not planned for.
All they had was transport money to and from school. That before travelling to Jinja, they did not have any prior notice regarding the school decision and only learnt of the penalty when they reached JICO which is a short form of Jinja College. That even after bouncing, the school did not give them any written circular to take to their parents.
It appears the school wants to collect the money but at the same time does not want to commit themselves in writing. It is alleged that when the strike took place, many parents wanted to pick their children fearing that the school would close. The administration however assured parents that the rumour false, alarmist, malicious and ill intentioned.
I was also informed that after the strike, the school administration assured the senior four students that due to indiscipline, they had depleted their chances of getting a vacancy at JICO. Armed with this threat, these young lads with the help of their parents had found alternative schools and only travelled to Jinja to pick recommendation letters.
To verify this information including the testimonial fees of 10,000/= and the penalty fee of 150,000/=, I called my friend Kakaire, one of the old boys with a child in that school and he confirmed the allegations as being true. However, he made it clear that he had had enough of JICO and was not willing to pay the money.
I am not a parent in that school but I clearly feel the psychological torture and financial strain these students and their parents have been subjected to. On the face of it, that money appears little but in these hard economic times, every penny counts. It feels like paying school fees for your child and then the school asks for more money for a report card.
These young lads also informed me how they had called their parents to inform them about the decision of the school but no one believed them since there was no prior notice in writing. That is how they ended up going back home empty handed. In this modern age, I would have expected JICO to send the notices through a teacher-parents WhatsApp group.
Any parent of my generation would be quick to brush off the charges as a hoax yet these students have to report to school soon. Looking at the 2025 UCE results for Jinja district, I know JICO emerged best but that is not a reason to grow wings. As a school, they should count themselves lucky that they posted good results despite the concealed strike.
Congratulations to the school administration, the Board of Governors, the Teachers and of course the students whose excitement has been cut short by the charges imposed whether the student was implicated in the strike or not. It is an omnibus decision that must be re-visited by the school administration and lifted accordingly.
We all know that whenever students go on strike, there are always underlying reasons that the school administration has failed, refused, ignored or neglected to address. In this case, students at Jinja College staged the instant strike to protest against harsh rules imposed specifically citing the headmaster, Dhikusooka Michael as the problem.
Since the school denied having had a strike, they must maintain that position as a top secret and cannot turn around to demand for compensation. It is alleged that when the school went on strike, the senior four students from within Jinja were forced to write their exams while commuting from home to avert any fresh threat of a strike.
It is also alleged that before the strike, the school administration was informed of the bad food but they kept a deaf ear. That on one occasion, the headmaster told the disgruntled students that they had no right to complain about bad meals since the school served them better food than that provided by their mother at home.
These are very uncouth statements that no right thinking trained teacher can utter before emotionally charged students. I am told these are part of the statement that triggered the strike coupled with arrogance of the current headmaster and harsh school rules. As a consequence, students repeatedly vandalized school property with the hope of being listened to.
When strikes take place as was the case at JICO, it is not only the school that suffers, even some students become victims of circumstances, others get injuries, others get traumatized, others loose property and or even life. In the long run, it is not only the school that suffer but also key stakeholders. Thus, JICO should not look at itself as the only victims.
It is not clear who made the directive to extort money from parents but certainly the blame goes to the head teacher who is said to enjoy the support of the old student’s association. It is not news that parents have just taken children to school. The financial burden should not be thrown at parents just because the head teacher wants to show his might and authority.
If indeed there was no strike at JICO as the school administration said, why should they be allowed to push the already impoverished parents into a corner. Was this decision reached in consultation with all the stakeholders or it is an under the table deal. We all know that the school is about to celebrate its 80th anniversary this year but that is not the way to make money for the occasion and amounts to blackmailing desperate parents.
Wadada Rogers is a commentator on political, legal and social issues. wadroger@yahoo.ca
