Delayed funds mess up Kyambogo trainee teachers practice programme

Delayed funds mess up Kyambogo trainee teachers practice programme

 

KAMPALA. The delay to release allowances for Kyambogo University lecturers has deprived student teachers a chance to be supervised during their ongoing teaching practice programme, Daily Monitor has learnt.

Some of the student teachers, who talked to Daily Monitor yesterday, said even since they were posted to various schools across the country last month, none of the supervisors has showed up yet.

“We are totally kept in the dark and don’t know what is going on. We simply hear that electures cannot come because there is no money to facilitate their movement,” said a one of the student teachers only identified as Kenneth. He is among the student teachers posted in  one of the city schools.

“What supervision will they do in a week or two even if they get their allowances tomorrow? ” asked Susan, another aggrieved student teacher .

The government ombudsman is currently investigating top Kyambogo University officials  and among the cases the IGG is investigating includes, the alleged incompetence and corrupt tendencies of some staff in the Academic registrar’s office which has left various faculties at the University  operate without teaching materials for over a year  and denying  students identify cards for three years. Last month , students  at the  University staged a strike protesting delays by the institution to issue them with IDs yet they paid Shs 15,000 each at the time of registration. In 2010, the University procured a machine to print both staff and students IDs but under unclear circumstances the people who were working in the printer were sacked last year and the university opted for outsourcing a private company to print the IDs.  The investigations followed reports of gross abuse of office and mismanagement of the institution by top university officials. On the other hand, the Auditor General is also investigating the academia largely on mismanagement and procurement at the institution since 2008, after a request by Parliament.

Kyambogo, established a decade ago , has suffered numerous  problems over the past few years

ranging from alleged incompetence of some staff to corruption to conflict of interest, intrigue and abuse of public property but surprisingly, the same problems continue to haunt the institution ever when changes are made in top management.

Most of these problems have been blamed on leadership wrangles that characterised the institution until early this year when Katunguka was appointed acting vice chancellor

Before Katunguka took over, there was a standoff between the institution’s staff and former vice-chancellor Prof. Isaiah Ndiege that paralysed the institution. The university administration is still under investigation by both the Inspector General of Government and the Auditor General .