Business came to a standstill in some parts of Mombasa town after Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) students on Wednesday rioted over new directives on fee balance.
The students engaged police in running battles as they chanted songs against the administration, accusing it of high-handedness.
Hundreds of students resorted to burning tires and barricading the busy Mombasa-Malindi highway in Buxton forcing police to lobby tear gas to repulse them. The officers were compelled to arrest tens of the students when things seemed to run out of control.
George Onyango, one of the students, told Daily Nation that the students were unhappy after the administration started blocking those with arrears from proceeding to the next level. He also said that the students feel demotivated since the introduction of the new rule. He further faulted the administration for not involving them in the discussion of the new directive.
"We are barred from progressing to the next year until we sit a supplementary exam. This has never happened in any institution, that is why we are opposing the directive," he said.
Vice-Chancellor Leila Abubakar said that they are looking into the matter. She also said that the administration has intervened to secure the release of first-year students who were coerced to join the strike.
"Lack of communication between the administration and students resulted in the protest but we have addressed the matter through departmental heads," she said.