Students who re-sat exams irk university departments
Mar 23, 2003
“STRESSED re-takers are pressuring everybody in sight as to when they will graduate. ADVICE: Go to the Academic Registrar’s Office for information. We do not handle this at the department. And quit pestering staff over this.â€
By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
“STRESSED re-takers are pressuring everybody in sight as to when they will graduate. ADVICE: Go to the Academic Registrar’s Office for information. We do not handle this at the department. And quit pestering staff over this.†Acting Head of Department.
This is a notice on the Mass Communication notice board at the Faculty of Arts, Makerere University.
Such a note is a manifestation of something wrong, either with the authorities or the people whom the notice is addressed or entire system.
So, “what is this retaking business,†every one wonders.
‘Retakers’ are students who have failed a paper at the first attempt and are supposed to re do it when it is next offered.
Academic Registrar, Sebastian Ngobi told Education Vision that under the University policy, students have the chance to re sit for all the papers they have failed while they continue studying in their actual year though on probation basis.
“The only limit on retaking is that one cannot keep on re-doing the same course more than three times. But if a student is retaking [an exam] in his [or her] final year, that means that he or she will not graduate with the rest because the results would not be ready at the time others are graduating,†he says.
Subsequently, if a student fails the same paper three times, he or she is either advised to change the course or is discontinued. Students have two chances to re-do papers they failed .
It has now become common practice at the university and in some departments, that sometimes half the number of students doing that course is forced to re-do it when they fail it.
Students who do not measure up to the expectations have found sympathy in this policy otherwise, it would have been a challenge, once one fails.
The policy also gives chance to students who may have passed the paper but wish to do it again in order to improve.
However, a student cannot be allowed to do more than five course units. In fact, Senate has recommended that a student who fails many courses should wait in the same year until he or she can pass them.
Last year, there was a three-day sit down strike at the University’s Faculty of Law when the Dean, Prof. Paul Bakibinga tried to implement this decision.
The Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty, Dr. Edward Kirumira, which has been a victim of several students being affected, says that the policy on re-takes allows students to continue with their courses.
But owing to the big numbers of students and the registration exercise, students who may have retakes tend to get problems.
“Re-taking means that a student is behind schedule depending on which year they failed a paper.
“That means that student has to register both with the actual year and the year where he is retaking.
“This may cause some confusion while compiling the results of the affected students,†he says.
This has become the major reason as to why most of the students who do graduate on schedule fail to do so.
“If a student fails a certain paper in third year, second semester, definitely such a student would have to wait for that paper to be offered again by the students who are a year behind,†Dr. Kirumira explains.
Under normal circumstances, if a student re-sits a paper, which he or she failed and passes it, the results are supposed to be compiled so that they can graduate on schedule.
However, because of the big numbers of both the students who are re-taking and the entire student population, this may not be possible because of the bureaucracy.
“Even if a student passes the paper he or she had failed, he or she may still not graduate with the rest because by the time the papers are marked, the lists are already compiled. That is what is happening to this faculty at the moment,†he explains.
It takes two months for students to see their results of the previous semester.
“STRESSED re-takers are pressuring everybody in sight as to when they will graduate. ADVICE: Go to the Academic Registrar’s Office for information. We do not handle this at the department. And quit pestering staff over this.†Acting Head of Department.
This is a notice on the Mass Communication notice board at the Faculty of Arts, Makerere University.
Such a note is a manifestation of something wrong, either with the authorities or the people whom the notice is addressed or entire system.
So, “what is this retaking business,†every one wonders.
‘Retakers’ are students who have failed a paper at the first attempt and are supposed to re do it when it is next offered.
Academic Registrar, Sebastian Ngobi told Education Vision that under the University policy, students have the chance to re sit for all the papers they have failed while they continue studying in their actual year though on probation basis.
“The only limit on retaking is that one cannot keep on re-doing the same course more than three times. But if a student is retaking [an exam] in his [or her] final year, that means that he or she will not graduate with the rest because the results would not be ready at the time others are graduating,†he says.
Subsequently, if a student fails the same paper three times, he or she is either advised to change the course or is discontinued. Students have two chances to re-do papers they failed .
It has now become common practice at the university and in some departments, that sometimes half the number of students doing that course is forced to re-do it when they fail it.
Students who do not measure up to the expectations have found sympathy in this policy otherwise, it would have been a challenge, once one fails.
The policy also gives chance to students who may have passed the paper but wish to do it again in order to improve.
However, a student cannot be allowed to do more than five course units. In fact, Senate has recommended that a student who fails many courses should wait in the same year until he or she can pass them.
Last year, there was a three-day sit down strike at the University’s Faculty of Law when the Dean, Prof. Paul Bakibinga tried to implement this decision.
The Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty, Dr. Edward Kirumira, which has been a victim of several students being affected, says that the policy on re-takes allows students to continue with their courses.
But owing to the big numbers of students and the registration exercise, students who may have retakes tend to get problems.
“Re-taking means that a student is behind schedule depending on which year they failed a paper.
“That means that student has to register both with the actual year and the year where he is retaking.
“This may cause some confusion while compiling the results of the affected students,†he says.
This has become the major reason as to why most of the students who do graduate on schedule fail to do so.
“If a student fails a certain paper in third year, second semester, definitely such a student would have to wait for that paper to be offered again by the students who are a year behind,†Dr. Kirumira explains.
Under normal circumstances, if a student re-sits a paper, which he or she failed and passes it, the results are supposed to be compiled so that they can graduate on schedule.
However, because of the big numbers of both the students who are re-taking and the entire student population, this may not be possible because of the bureaucracy.
“Even if a student passes the paper he or she had failed, he or she may still not graduate with the rest because by the time the papers are marked, the lists are already compiled. That is what is happening to this faculty at the moment,†he explains.
It takes two months for students to see their results of the previous semester.