Uganda: Makerere Raises Cut Off Points

By Eric Sande

Kampala, Uganda---Students from Makerere University will have to read extra hard to achieve their desired degree clusters in the under graduate programme. This comes in the wake of the University senate’s decision to draw a new grading system.  To obtain a First Class Honours degree, students must have a grade point average of 4.4. To attain Second Class honours degree upper division, students will now be required to score between 4.0 and 4.3, up from 3.6.. For a Lower Class degree, one needs 3.0 up from 2.8.

The senate’s decision has elicited sharp reaction from the student fraternity, with student leaders threatening to call a strike over the new grading system. They protested in a letter dated August 2 to principals, deans, directors of colleges, schools, faculties and institutes.

Mr Alfred Masikye Namoah, the academic registrar, pointed out that the senate received and considered new classification of final awards from the Ugandan National Council for Higher Education(NCHE).

“National Council for Higher Education under statutory instrument No 34 of 2008 set the classification of awards. The Senate decided that the new classification be adopted and applied with effect from the 2010/2011 intake, excluding continuing students,” Mr Namoah states.

Student leaders from the university have since demanded that institution first improve the facilities before the new grading can be implemented.

Mr Patrick Okae, the NCHE senior officer, on Wednesday 29 said the guideline is to ensure quality assurance among institutions of higher learning and warned of repercussions if not followed.