Police reject recruits with Pass degrees
Applicants seeking to join the Uganda Police Force undergo drills at Kibuli Police Children School in Kampala yesterday. Photo by ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
Recruiting officers said the Force can no longer accommodate failures in its ranks.
Kampala.
Pass degree holders seeking to join the Uganda Police Force at cadet level have been rejected in the ongoing police recruitment exercise across the country.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango said police management agreed that only those who excelled should be considered.
“Many applicants with Pass degrees came but we rejected them. We are looking for the best in society so that we can deliver the best services to the people and the best can only be identified through their academic records,” Mr Onyango said.
The National Council for Higher Education says a Pass degree is when a university student’s cumulative grade point average falls between 2.9 and 2.0.
The recruitment exercise kicked off yesterday at 20 centres around the country. Applicants for police cadet positions were considered first and reports from up-country stations indicate that the turn up was too high. On average, each centre received 1,000 applicants, bringing the total number to 20,000.
Police need only 500 cadets but at Kibuli recruitment centre in Kampala, more than 3,000 applicants turned up. Between 40 and 60 applicants will be recruited at this centre.
Deputy police spokesperson Polly Namaye said other centres received nearly the same number of applicants. Aswa Region police spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema said 228 applicants from Gulu, Nwoya, Amuru, Pader, Kitgum, Agago and Lamwo districts were registered.
The screening and aptitude tests will be done up to Friday. On Friday, police will recruit between 3,000 and 5,000 constables.
