Public universities in Uganda postpone graduation

Most public universities have postponed their graduation ceremonies due to COVID-19 that has destabilised school calendars.

Most of these universities usually conduct graduation between October and January.

Kyambogo University that usually passes out its graduates between December 11 and 15 is not sure when it will hold its next 17th graduation ceremony.

The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Kyambogo University, Prof Eli Katunguka, told Daily Monitor in a telephone interview yesterday that much as their final year students have completed their exams, they cannot graduate because the majority of them have not yet completed internship and teacher training.

All Education students are required to conduct school practice that involves real physical teaching of pupils or students in traditional schools and are awarded marks before graduating.

“Graduation cannot take place because students have not done internship and those doing Education have not done school/college practice. They usually do school practice when schools are open and they do it in their third year. We do not know when these schools will reopen or when these teaching practices will take place. So I do not know when we shall plan for our graduation,” Prof Katunguka said.

Makerere University that usually conducts their graduation ceremony between January 17 and 20 has postponed to March 16-21, 2021.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, said the university plans to complete the marking and processing of marks before the end of January.

Prof Nawangwe said they would use other modalities to assess final year students of education since they have not been able to conduct school practice.

He added: “...The students will do school practice here in front of their teachers and that will be constituted for traditional schools practice. Because of the circumstances, we cannot send students out there.”

The situation is not different in other public universities including Busitema, Gulu, Lira, Muni and Mbarara University of Science and Technology, among others.

Prof Paul Waako, the VC of Busitema University, said they plan to conduct their graduation ceremony in March because they are still waiting for educationists to come up with modalities of how their students will conduct school practice.

“All our finalists have completed exams, except one group which has schools teaching practice aspect which we expect to conduct in January before we graduate,” Prof Waako said.

The VC of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Prof Celestino Obua, said they will conduct their graduation in June next year because lecturers are unable to mark results of finalists and continue teaching. Mbarara usually holds their graduation in October.

Prof George Openjuru Ladaah, the deputy VC of Academic Affairs of Gulu University, said they would conduct graduation in March.

Unlike other universities that cited schools teaching practice and internship as the major reason for postponing graduations, Lira and Muni Universities cited the forthcoming election in January as the major reason.

The VC of Muni University, Prof Christine Dranzoa, said they would not hold graduation in January because they do not want to subject people’s children to uncertainty.

She said they usually hold their graduation in November but they plan for April.

The VC of Lira University, Prof Jasper Ogwal Okeng, said they are set to conduct the graduation, but they are waiting to borrow a leaf from other universities.

All heads of the university we contacted said their graduation ceremonies will be conducted virtually given the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions on crowds.

Soroti University does not have final year students since the government has just taken over the institution.

The government in October reopened institutions of learning but for only final year students and candidates.