Examination retakes, the academic bogeyman
Jan 01, 2008
MOST students in universities and other institutions of higher learning go for each exam with one thing at the back of their minds: avoiding retakes.
By Jacobs Odongo
MOST students in universities and other institutions of higher learning go for each exam with one thing at the back of their minds: avoiding retakes.
Retakes are so dreaded that a student would rather get a pass, a grade that contributes almost nil to one’s Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) than be confronted with retakes.
A retake is when a student fails to get the minimum grade point (a pass or 50%) and is required to re-do the paper in consequent academic years when it is next offered.
Retakes pose serious challenges to career pursuits of many a prospective graduate, especially for students who have completed their studies. Unlike continuing students who may only be required to pay a paltry sh10,000 (for MUK) or sh20,000 (for Kyambogo University) per retake paper, those who have completed the full duration of their courses have to bear the full brunt of retakes in terms of costs.
At MUK, retake fee payable per paper is a product of a complicated computation involving tuition fees payable for the programme per semester, the number of Credit Units (CU) per retake and others.
For instance, at Makerere’s faculty of Arts, Mass Communication students are required to pay sh133,000 per retake on top of functional fees (registration fee of sh50,000 and examinations fee of sh6,000 per paper). Evening students pay sh155,000 per paper plus the functional fees. At the Faculty of Law, students pay sh120,000 and sh180,000 per paper for day and evening students respectively, excluding functional fees.
These amounts when computed are expensive for students who have completed but have no jobs. As a result, such students may postpone retakes as they look for money to cater for the monster.
And when one finally gets a job, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance workplace demands and studies.
One of the biggest nightmares in one’s career is a transcript indication ‘RT’—retake—against course units. “The more the ‘RTs’, the more painful and nostalgic is the sight of the transcript to a student,†observes Oscar Mugula, a counsellor and PRO at the Faculty of Arts, MUK.
To employers, the more the RTs, the higher the indication of lack of seriousness at college on the part of the applicant.
But when fate rules against your dreams, how best would you deal with a retake paper?
Some students postpone retaking papers until they are out of colleges. When the New Vision visited some of the faculties in Makerere University, the examinations results for last semester on display on the notice boards revealed that students with registration numbers 99, 00, 01, and 02 (for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 respectively) sat for retake paper last semester.
Some actually sat for papers they failed in their first and second years. “It is disastrous for a student to wait this long to retake the paper. The maximum Credit Unit (CU) is 28. so if you have a retake , do it sooner for as long as the CU that not exceed 28,†he advises.
Mugula says it is best for students to set priorities. “The priority should be studies and not your job even if it is the job paying for the retake,†he says.
Mr. Mugula singles out class attendance as a crucial aspect for retake. This, he says, should be paid attention. “Continuing students often fall prey to pride, on the major human weaknesses. As such they fear to attend classes with students in academic years below their own.â€
For students who have completed their duration of studies, is is more about looking for jobs, and for the lucky ones, going to work that make them miss lectures. Some even feel that the notes they have is enough tool for them to pass exams.
“Teaching methods vary from one lecturer to another. A lecturer may focus on a particular topic, something the previous lecturer did not pay much attention to. You shouldn’t be on the offside,†Mugula cautions.
He also advises those who have completed studies to endeavour to attend lectures as the only way to overcome ‘academic rust’. This is a situation where one fails to grasp any academic input no matter how much he reads. Attending lectures helps out.
MOST students in universities and other institutions of higher learning go for each exam with one thing at the back of their minds: avoiding retakes.
Retakes are so dreaded that a student would rather get a pass, a grade that contributes almost nil to one’s Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) than be confronted with retakes.
A retake is when a student fails to get the minimum grade point (a pass or 50%) and is required to re-do the paper in consequent academic years when it is next offered.
Retakes pose serious challenges to career pursuits of many a prospective graduate, especially for students who have completed their studies. Unlike continuing students who may only be required to pay a paltry sh10,000 (for MUK) or sh20,000 (for Kyambogo University) per retake paper, those who have completed the full duration of their courses have to bear the full brunt of retakes in terms of costs.
At MUK, retake fee payable per paper is a product of a complicated computation involving tuition fees payable for the programme per semester, the number of Credit Units (CU) per retake and others.
For instance, at Makerere’s faculty of Arts, Mass Communication students are required to pay sh133,000 per retake on top of functional fees (registration fee of sh50,000 and examinations fee of sh6,000 per paper). Evening students pay sh155,000 per paper plus the functional fees. At the Faculty of Law, students pay sh120,000 and sh180,000 per paper for day and evening students respectively, excluding functional fees.
These amounts when computed are expensive for students who have completed but have no jobs. As a result, such students may postpone retakes as they look for money to cater for the monster.
And when one finally gets a job, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance workplace demands and studies.
One of the biggest nightmares in one’s career is a transcript indication ‘RT’—retake—against course units. “The more the ‘RTs’, the more painful and nostalgic is the sight of the transcript to a student,†observes Oscar Mugula, a counsellor and PRO at the Faculty of Arts, MUK.
To employers, the more the RTs, the higher the indication of lack of seriousness at college on the part of the applicant.
But when fate rules against your dreams, how best would you deal with a retake paper?
Some students postpone retaking papers until they are out of colleges. When the New Vision visited some of the faculties in Makerere University, the examinations results for last semester on display on the notice boards revealed that students with registration numbers 99, 00, 01, and 02 (for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 respectively) sat for retake paper last semester.
Some actually sat for papers they failed in their first and second years. “It is disastrous for a student to wait this long to retake the paper. The maximum Credit Unit (CU) is 28. so if you have a retake , do it sooner for as long as the CU that not exceed 28,†he advises.
Mugula says it is best for students to set priorities. “The priority should be studies and not your job even if it is the job paying for the retake,†he says.
Mr. Mugula singles out class attendance as a crucial aspect for retake. This, he says, should be paid attention. “Continuing students often fall prey to pride, on the major human weaknesses. As such they fear to attend classes with students in academic years below their own.â€
For students who have completed their duration of studies, is is more about looking for jobs, and for the lucky ones, going to work that make them miss lectures. Some even feel that the notes they have is enough tool for them to pass exams.
“Teaching methods vary from one lecturer to another. A lecturer may focus on a particular topic, something the previous lecturer did not pay much attention to. You shouldn’t be on the offside,†Mugula cautions.
He also advises those who have completed studies to endeavour to attend lectures as the only way to overcome ‘academic rust’. This is a situation where one fails to grasp any academic input no matter how much he reads. Attending lectures helps out.