Student leaders under their umbrella body, the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA), have raised their concerns and demanded answers from the government regarding the issue of expired courses offered by universities.
These demands arise following a recent incident involving a graduate from Makerere University, which has shed light on the challenges faced by students who unknowingly pursued courses that have expired.
The graduate had applied for a post-graduate study program at the University of Bristol in England but was rejected due to an “expired” course—specifically, the Bachelor of Biomedical Laboratory Technology completed at Makerere.
The rejection email brought attention to the fact that the accreditation for the program was valid from March 26, 2010, to March 26, 2015, with the expiration date occurring prior to the graduate’s graduation in 2018.
In a statement provided to journalists this afternoon, UNSA demanded an explanation from the government regarding why universities continue to teach unaccredited courses and courses whose accreditation has expired, despite students paying fees to pursue them.
Meanwhile, it is important to note that the expiration of a university course’s accreditation by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) does not imply the termination of the course itself. Rather, it signifies that the initial five-year period for which the course was reviewed and approved by the NCHE has elapsed. As a result, a revision, re-submission, review, and re-approval or re-accreditation become necessary.