Isaac Khisa
6 November 2009
The admission and assessment of students who are admitted to the Law Development Centre does not favour students from private universities, prominent businessman Mr Hassan Basajjabalaba, said yesterday.
Mr Basajjabalaba who chairs the board of trustees of Kampala International University (KIU) also said there is exam malpractice at the centre.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in which 3,398 graduands were awarded, diplomas, undergraduate and post graduate degrees at KIU, Mr Basajjabalaba said some students, especially the few who pass examination, are given free marks.
"At LDC, there are a lot of exam malpractices. Students learn and are capable of passing but some students gets free marks," he said. "It is unfair for someone to fail examinations because of the conditions created by the institution. You shouldn't make people suffer because of your mistakes."
Registered failures
Results announced in July revealed that only 43 out of 217 students who sat for the second and last supplementary papers in the academic year 2006/07 passed their examinations. In the 2007/8 academic year, only 66 out of 380 students who sat for the examinations passed and graduated, whereas 249 of the candidates failed Criminal Proceedings and Commercial Transactions, but remained with only one more chance to re-sit the papers, lest they are discontinued.
Mr Basajjabalaba wondered why only few students pass at the centre leaving the majority failing. "It is a surprise to hear that out of 600 students who sit for the examination only 100 or 150 pass," Mr Basajjabalaba said.
He said it is difficult for students to pass examinations in an environment where there are neither books nor teaching space and staff are limited. He urged the Ministry of Justice to get involved in the centre's affairs in order to end the failure rate. The Minister of State for Justice, Mr Fred Ruhindi, who also attended the ceremony, said the challenges facing LDC are being handled by the centre's stakeholders.
"Some of the problems facing LDC are institutional and some of them are cross-cutting and we must work together and make LDC a better place," Mr Ruhindi said.
However, LDC deputy director and spokesperson, Ms Percy Night Tuhaise denied the allegations. "I am not aware of cheating at LDC because when one is found cheating, he or she is disqualified and if he (Basajjabalaba) has the evidence let him prove," Ms Tuhaise said yesterday.
She said the centre has enough books for research and teaching space to accommodate all the students.
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