Uganda, Dec. 6 -- A couple of weeks ago the media was awash with reports of interdiction of a lecturer who was recorded on phone slapping a female student at Makerere University.

The lecturer was reportedly angered by students who were using their phones and talking during the lecture.

The incident sparked a lot of debate, with a section of people saying perhaps the lecturer was right because he was duty bound to demand attention from students when lecturing, but others think the lecturer had passed the acceptable limits of the teachers' professional code of conduct.

Whatever side you may choose, one thing that is subtly mentioned in that story is the frequency and magnitude of the same or similar challenges lecturers face nowadays. It...