Makerere University is reintroducing supplementary examinations to allow eligible final-year students with pending exams (locally known as retakes) to be re-examined so they can graduate in time.
Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, in an interview yesterday, reported that the University Council had already approved the return of supplementary examinations for students and several students have already sat for the same.
‘Makerere will hold one supplementary examination session each year, at the end of Semester Two and before the next academic year begins,’ he said.
Prof Nawangwe explained that a policy on eligibility and operational rules has been put in place, giving qualifying students a limited chance to address what he termed as marginal academic shortfalls, without lowering the standards of the university awards.
Affected students are required to register their interest in sitting for these exams with the respective departments before they can be allowed to be assessed ahead of graduation.
Makerere stopped the supplementary exam system in 2001, when the university transitioned from a term to a semester system. Under the old system, supplementary exams were usually held in September, which the students referred to as the September conference, ahead of the annual graduation ceremonies in October.
Since then, current rules stipulate that once a student fails a course, they have to wait until it is next offered.
However, if one voluntarily seeks to redo a particular exam in order to improve their final grade, they also have to apply to retake the course exam.
The original grade is always kept for final calculation and will be used in determining the final grade if one scores lower on a retake on the supplementary exam.
Prof Nawangwe acknowledged that retakes have been a thorn in the flesh of parents and thousands of students, who not only have to pay for the retakes but also wait for a whole year before re-sitting the papers that they failed.
‘Students who have failed even one paper in their final year would have to wait for another year before they can graduate. Retakes affect thousands of students, according to the few colleges that have already sat for supplementary examinations,’ he said, adding, ‘Thousands of students are going to benefit from this.’
Previously, finalists who had a backlog to clear before graduating were tasked to pay Shs20,000 as re-examination fees, a Shs20,000 library fee, course tuition fees, and standard university registration fees, before sitting for the retake exams.
Mr Ebenezer Wamezaya, Makerere University’s health minister and a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Pharmacy, commended the university for the initiative, noting that the decision made is a win for both students and the administration.
‘Supplementary exams are a win for both the students and administration given that it enables students with retakes to graduate with the rest of their coursemates. In the past, students with retakes would sit for a whole year doing nothing … it was hard for them to secure employment,’ Mr Wamezaya said.
However, Ms Prossy Nakayiki, the acting academic registrar of Makerere University, said supplementary examinations are a preserve for students with one or two retakes, and the application fees vary according to the programme offered.