Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has proposed that learners who offer arts subject combinations at A-Level should be allowed to pursue undergraduate science courses.
Dr Cyrus Ssebugenyi, the principal higher education officer at the NCHE, yesterday said if the government can get experts who can design a special curriculum for Arts students, it is possible for them to enrol for science programmes.
“You see, a human mind takes what you give it. Even when children join university from A-level, where they have never studied law, they do law and they become lawyers. This is the orientation they get from the university,” he said.
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He added: “This (orientation) can also apply to arts students who want to [study] sciences. We have to design a programme and give it slightly more length, like three semesters. You design courses starting from A-Level stage and because they are mature, they can accelerate their learning more very fast.”
Presently, Ugandan universities directly admit A-level students who obtain at least two principal passes for undergraduate programmes, with the other entry route being diploma. However, every course has its own specific admission criteria and requirements, with no arts student crossing to study sciences.
Citing practices such as in the United States, Dr Ssebugenyi said transitioning from studying humanities to sciences is possible if the government gives it special attention.
“The problem we have is the mind of the public which is stuck somewhere that once you have done arts, you cannot go to science, ” he said.
He was speaking at a workshop on the implementation of the higher education certificate programme, which introduced last year for students who fail to obtain two principal passes at A-Level to advance to university.
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Dr Ssebugenyi said NCHE will conduct for arts students moving to study sciences a tailored one-year pre-university admission training.
However, Dr Joel Okullo, the head of Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, the regulator of medical professionals, dismissed the proposal as “mockery.” “The one-year [pre-admission] that the NCHE is giving cannot transform a person who dropped science subjects in O-level into somebody who can join medical school,” he said.
Education ministry permanent secretary Ketty Lamaro, in response to our inquiries, said: “This (proposal) is a policy matter that needs to be subjected to top management for internalisation. Otherwise, it is not a bad proposal since it is happening elsewhere. I know someone who offered arts here and went to America and she is now a medical doctor.”
Dr Lilian Gimuguni, the academic registrar of Busitema University, said the proposal can work if students are given special concentration and curriculum to transition from arts to sciences.
Gulu University Academic Registrar Jerry Bagaya said a lot will be required to convince professional bodies to allow arts students to study sciences.
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“It is attainable, only that our education system is rigid and changing people’s attitude and mindset towards this might be hard,” Mr Bagaya said.
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Yesterday’s proposal by Dr Ssebugenyi mirrors a 2012 decision by Makerere University to allow science students to enrol for Bachelor of Laws course, which until then was restricted to arts students, with preference for those offering History, Economics and Literature in English.
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