Kyambogo University students have asked for clear mechanisms and programs set to address concerns of the final year students with academic challenges related to missed papers and retaking of papers with continuing students.
The students say, it is unfair for final year students instead of concentrating on studies and preparing for final examinations which is in two weeks’ time, are running up and down looking for lecturers to correct the mistakes in their marks.
Most students are worried of retakes and missed papers, an issue that students argue that it will also be unfair for students to miss out of graduation programs simply because the university failed to give them a chance to do their retakes/missed papers.
Ideally, students retake courses and missed papers, when those papers are next offered with the years following them. These include, course works, tests and final papers inform of examinations.
An example, third year students with papers to redo, are supposed to sit them with second years and this is unfortunately to see that second years are not currently at university. This means it becomes a challenge to redo them yet there are no systems designed to cater for them.
Lynette Nalubega Nyakato, a finalist, says the university should plan and come up with a better way on how they can help students do their papers in order to graduate with the rest.
John Mbazira one of the affected students says, as students they feel betrayed that there is no clear mechanism and programs set to address concerns of the final year students with academic challenges related to missed papers and retaking of papers with continuing students.
Mbazira therefore requests that the faculties should design special teaching and learning schedules for students with academic challenges related to missed papers and retaking of courses.
There are also many students who are doing their research and they cannot access their supervisors due to the fact that supervisors are not around since the classes they lecture are not at university.
Students as well face the challenge of missing marks, loss of papers among others, and the people responsible are the lecturers currently off the campus.
Nicholas Muhumuza, a finalist in the special needs faculty comments that he has tried his best to look for these lecturers where he still has issues but they are nowhere to be seen.
Swafula Kakumba a finalist argues that most students fail papers with marks like 45 percent, therefore, the lecturers can add to them the few marks to make them pass if giving them special papers is costly and difficult. Anne Begumisa the academic registrar Kyambogo says, this is giving students free marks and they cannot do that as a university.
Commenting on the retakes/missed papers issue, Professor Elli Katunguka, the vice chancellor of Kyambogo University explains that the issue of retakes is always done when they are next offered and there is no way those students can do them since the continuing students are not around.
He therefore contends that it is very difficult to arrange for individual retakes for finalists away from other classes and that it requires paying staff for this arrangement.
Professor Katunguka however says it is a good idea and it will be taken to the senate for further discussions. He notes that if it fails, students with retakes have to wait for those classes in order to do the papers.
Kyambogo University reopened for over 11,943 finalists on 15th October and resumed teaching on 19th October for a period of only four weeks ending on 13th November and then the final exams on 16th to 29th November for a period of two weeks.
