By FRANCIS KAGOLO AND BRIAN MAYANJA

ABOUT 2,000 Makerere University students face dismissal for taking too long to complete their courses.

The students are mainly from the department of open and distance learning, the college of arts and humanities, school of education and the college of economics and management.

According to a circular issued by the academic registrar, Alfred Namoah, the move follows a new policy, which bars the university from keeping students who have taken long without graduating.

Most bachelor’s degree courses take three years, save for law (four years) and some science courses like medicine and surgery, pharmacy, surveying and a few others which go up to five years.

The new policy, passed by the university’s senate, requires that students stay for a maximum of two years after the expiration of the stipulated period for their courses.

But the academic registrar said most of the students, who were affected by the policy, have stayed for over 10 years without graduating.

Dr. Paul Muyinda, who heads the open and distance learning department, said bachelor of commerce (external) has the highest number of students who have stayed for over 10 years.

The department is one of the those with the biggest number of affected students.

Robert Nsibirwa, a student affected by the policy, said he was supposed to graduate in 2006 but was held up by his father’s death that year.

He was pursuing bachelors of commerce (external).