Jinja campus students miss Makerere University graduation

At least 20 students from Makerere University Jinja based campus will miss this year's graduation ceremony that is beginning on Tuesday because of missing marks.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe says that the students will be given transcripts once their issues are resolved.

Nawangwe explained that the students whose marks are missing had their marks in the old grading system of the University which did not tally with the new system. He apologized to their parents saying  the University will rectify the problem.

Majority of the students that will miss graduation this year did not graduate during the last graduation over the same issues.

Julian Atuhaire, a student of Bachelor of Tourism who missed the 2017 graduation said the situation is traumatising. She hinted of a possible fight between Makerere Jinja Campus and the main campus in Kampala.

Benjamin Akena, another student with registration number 13/U/20765/EVE also on a Bachelor of Tourism said he was frustrated by not finding his name among the people to graduate. He is threatening to sue the University.

"Makerere University broke my heart. All I have to do right now is hit them hard in their pocket. It is a legal and spiritual battle. I have served the demand cum notice with the intention to sue so in seven (7) days if they don't give any explanation and compensation, that is when the court battle will start," Akena said.

But Prof. Nawangwe blames the problem on coding in the grading system at the university. He says the student under question were previously graded using the old system and that their results could not tally with the current system.

The four-day graduation ceremony will over 15000 students graduating. Sixty nine students will to be awarded with PhDs. Nine hundred and eighty will be awarded masters degrees, 96 Post Graduate Diplomas, 133 undergraduate Diplomas and 13,966 bachelor's degrees. Overall, 7751 males will graduate alongside 7,493 females.

Prof. Nawangwe says all grandaunts this year will pick their academic transcripts at leisure from their respective college registrars after graduation ceremony.

Meanwhile parents and the grandaunts will this time around be allowed to carry their mobile phones to the ceremony. The phones were last restricted during the last graduation.

Prof. Patrick Mangeni Wa'Ndeda, the Dean, School of Liberal and Performing Arts in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences also Chairperson of the University Ceremonies Committee confirmed the development.

"We discussed this in our security meetings jointly with security agencies and we resolved to allow them (students) in the freedom square with their phones. Of course it was discussed how the phones would cause inconveniences but we think we can regulate its usage," Prof. Mangeni said.

The decision was reached following lengthy discussions between the University Ceremonies Committee and the security sub-committee headed by the University Chief Security Officer ACP Enock Abaine.

During the 67th graduation ceremony, Margaret Loy Lubega Etuusa, the Deputy Academic Registrar in charge of Certificates, Ceremonies and publications allegedly fraudulently hired Exxon Contractors Ltd, to provide phone keeping services at a fee.

The company is said to have earned 134 milling shillings from nearly 44,000 unsuspecting graduands and guests. Makerere University last week again suspended Etuusa over corruption related charges.