Birth certificate now vital for university admission
Dec 01, 2002
Things are getting tougher. As well as filling in the tedious Joint Admissions Board forms, candidates must now also attach birth certificates. This is to exclude foreigners and Ugandans above the age of 25. <b>Simon Mugenyi</b> reports
AT this turn of events, a student may miss out joining any public university on Government sponsorship if he or she does not have a birth certificate.
This time round, senior six (S6) candidates must attach their birth certificates or any alternative document to the Public University Joint Admissions Board (PUJAB)/Joint Admissions Board (JAB) forms.
Elizabeth Gabona, Assistant Commissioner for Higher Education in charge of admissions and scholarships, says students have to submit their birth certificates with the PUJAB/JAB forms or will have to prove the age stated on the forms.
“There will be no objection. The birth certificate is a must. Those who don’t submit them have to prove their age at the time of admission,†she says. She emphasised that Government sponsorship is for Ugandans below 25 years only. The tedious coding sheet has been replaced with the PUJAB form. Students now have to fill their particulars rather than shade them as before.
This time students have filled in these forms after their exams, applying to four public universities for Government sponsorship. These include Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Gulu University and Kyambogo University.
Gabona says students have to fill both JAB and PUJAB forms. PUJAB forms are for application to public universities for sponsorship and JAB forms to other public tertiary institutions.
“If you fill only PUJAB you miss out on other tertiary institutions. I wouldn’t say don’t fill the JAB forms. Likewise, I will not tell teachers to predetermine a student’s choices,†she says.
After results are released by Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), PUJAB sits and selects eligible candidates for sponsorship in public universities.
After these are selected, their names are deleted.
Then PUJAB sits to consider students for the private programmes in public universities. “When admitted in a public university as a private student, the computer deletes your name from consideration by JAB,†she says.
The schools Education Vision visited welcome the new move partially. Juma Kaddu, director of studies (DOS) at Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School, says filling the forms after exams means a candidate is in position to fill in the courses to suit her gauged performance.
He, however, says that the new system has a disadvantage.
“Attaching a birth certificate and pass slip; tracing it and beating the deadline is hard,†Kaddu observed.
The DOS at Kawempe Muslim School says students may not know their performance until results are back.
Christopher Muganga, Dean Upper Section, Makerere College School, welcomes the new form. He says it has relieved him of the hectic work that comes with coding sheets.
He says students have been making mistakes with the coding sheets, giving him a much bigger task of explaining to the big number of students.
“The coding sheets are delicate and the moment you make a mistake the computer ignores them,†he says.
He believes the new system is better because one would have gauged his performance.before filling the forms.
“It is batter to apply after exams, but it needs someone who has a focus,†he says.
He, however, says that it will be hard to beat the deadline, since students finished their exams on November 29.
Gabona says the ministry does not mind when the forms are filled, as long as they are returned before
December 13.
The age limit (25 years) for Government sponsored students is
set.
All those who are planning to apply for the scholarship should have that in mind, beginning this year.
This time round, senior six (S6) candidates must attach their birth certificates or any alternative document to the Public University Joint Admissions Board (PUJAB)/Joint Admissions Board (JAB) forms.
Elizabeth Gabona, Assistant Commissioner for Higher Education in charge of admissions and scholarships, says students have to submit their birth certificates with the PUJAB/JAB forms or will have to prove the age stated on the forms.
“There will be no objection. The birth certificate is a must. Those who don’t submit them have to prove their age at the time of admission,†she says. She emphasised that Government sponsorship is for Ugandans below 25 years only. The tedious coding sheet has been replaced with the PUJAB form. Students now have to fill their particulars rather than shade them as before.
This time students have filled in these forms after their exams, applying to four public universities for Government sponsorship. These include Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Gulu University and Kyambogo University.
Gabona says students have to fill both JAB and PUJAB forms. PUJAB forms are for application to public universities for sponsorship and JAB forms to other public tertiary institutions.
“If you fill only PUJAB you miss out on other tertiary institutions. I wouldn’t say don’t fill the JAB forms. Likewise, I will not tell teachers to predetermine a student’s choices,†she says.
After results are released by Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), PUJAB sits and selects eligible candidates for sponsorship in public universities.
After these are selected, their names are deleted.
Then PUJAB sits to consider students for the private programmes in public universities. “When admitted in a public university as a private student, the computer deletes your name from consideration by JAB,†she says.
The schools Education Vision visited welcome the new move partially. Juma Kaddu, director of studies (DOS) at Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School, says filling the forms after exams means a candidate is in position to fill in the courses to suit her gauged performance.
He, however, says that the new system has a disadvantage.
“Attaching a birth certificate and pass slip; tracing it and beating the deadline is hard,†Kaddu observed.
The DOS at Kawempe Muslim School says students may not know their performance until results are back.
Christopher Muganga, Dean Upper Section, Makerere College School, welcomes the new form. He says it has relieved him of the hectic work that comes with coding sheets.
He says students have been making mistakes with the coding sheets, giving him a much bigger task of explaining to the big number of students.
“The coding sheets are delicate and the moment you make a mistake the computer ignores them,†he says.
He believes the new system is better because one would have gauged his performance.before filling the forms.
“It is batter to apply after exams, but it needs someone who has a focus,†he says.
He, however, says that it will be hard to beat the deadline, since students finished their exams on November 29.
Gabona says the ministry does not mind when the forms are filled, as long as they are returned before
December 13.
The age limit (25 years) for Government sponsored students is
set.
All those who are planning to apply for the scholarship should have that in mind, beginning this year.