Dr Cyrus Ssebugenyi, the principal higher education officer at the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has suggested a proposal if passed, will see Arts students enroll for science courses at the university.
While speaking at a workshop on the implementation of the higher education certificate program, Dr Ssebugenyi said NCHE will train arts students for a grace period of 12 months prior to being admitted into science disciplines.
“A human mind takes what you give it. Even when children join university from A-level, where they have never studied law, they do law and they become lawyers. This is the orientation they get from the university,” Dr Ssebugenyi said.
Dr Ssebugenyi says that like is the same for law, the same can be done for science course in order to have arts students enrolling for them. He said that everything is possible though the public has a rigid mind thinking that once one does arts, they cannot do sciences.
“The problem we have is the mind of the public which is stuck somewhere that once you have done arts, you cannot do sciences.” He said.
While some students have welcomed the proposal, others say its not a good idea. A one Kevin Mugabi, the Vice president at Makerere’s school of languages literature and communication told the Bee that unlike arts, those that opt for science courses have a passion for them. He says the proposal will give second chances to those that do arts because they have run out of options.
“I think whoever goes in for sciences has the love for it. Unlike in arts where one is forced by conditions to do arts but when the heart is in sciences. The proposal will give one a second chance,” Kevin says.
Most universities have different entry requirements and what is common is that most if not all admitted students with at least two principal passes. The science disciplines always require a science subject as an essential and its only a few arts courses that are open for both arts and science students.
For instance, the Bachelors of law degree is an open course for either students. At Makerere university, one only has to pass the law pre-entry exam to be admitted into the law course despite their Advanced level combination.
Dr Ssebugenyi’s proposal will now open the science disciplines for arts students as well and this will usher in a set of scientists with an arts background – that’s if the proposal comes to pass.
