In a revised proposal drafted by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), senior six candidates who get one principle pass in the final Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations will be allowed to retake only those subjects that they failed.
This will save senior six candidates from the trouble of presenting two principle passes from one sitting by giving them an opportunity to present another principle pass from another sitting in order to join campus.
Information reaching the Campus Bee news desk indicates that this proposal has already been presented before the minister of education Janet Kataaha Museveni who is expected to sign it before it becomes a law. According to NCHE’s principle higher education officer Dr. Cyprus Ssebugenyi , the proposed instrument could be implemented as early as August 2018, if singed by the first lady who also doubles as the minister of education and sports.
Ssebugenyi added that the changes are aimed at making education less expensive, more convenient and less time consuming for both students and parents. It should be recalled that senior six students are currently required to present a minimum of two principle passes (A’ level) in one sitting before joining university. Those who have only one principle pass are required to repeat all the papers including the passed ones as a criteria.
Other beneficiaries of this proposal are diploma holders who wish to pursue a degree. According to NCHE, students who possess diplomas will be allowed to join a degree course in second year instead of beginning afresh in first year. NCHE insists that beneficiaries of this proposal should have atleast pursued a diploma for a period of two years from an accredited institution. This move is aimed at preventing the diploma holders from repeating what they already studied in year one.
Among other proposed amendments include reducing of the mature age examination entry from 25 to 22 years. Ssebugenyi revealed all this on Tuesday 5th June at ISBAT University during a stakeholder’s sensitization workshop on the Uganda Higher Education Qualification Framework.
