Guiding students on career choices at early stage is crucial

What subjects should I study or drop in Senior Three? What course should I apply for at university? Can I still become a pilot yet I am an Arts student in A-Level? How do I become an air hostess? These are some of the frequently asked questions in the career guidance activities I have been engaged in.

Career guidance has previously not been given that much significance despite people being aware of it because they do not recognise its importance. But over the years, it has increasingly gained some ground in Uganda with some national programmes introduced to promote it in schools and many schools encouraging industry experts but mostly old students to give talks to their students.

Career guidance is about equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills and values to make informed decisions at each key education stage for successful transition from school to further education or work, and hence to manage their career pathways and lifelong learning throughout their lives.

In the past, students were often pressured to pursue careers basing on their popularity among their peers as opposed to taking on their talents, interests or abilities. It is in such points that career guidance plays a pivotal role. It is very important for students to be properly advised early on in their lives and guided by the right people as this will be a stepping stone for success in their careers. As a result, students will;

Make informed subject choices
Certain careers such as medicine, engineering or some in aviation such as Air Traffic Control depend on very good grades and are subject specific. If students are able to form ideas about these possible careers as early as Senior One, they will be able to make more informed choices at least by keeping a number of subject options open.

Understand the world of work
Gone are the days when most students wanted to become either doctors or engineers. These days, a wide range of career options are now available but with a lack of knowledge, students feel spoilt for choice or confused and need to be guided.
Also, with the fast-paced world today, many people eventually make multiple career changes as opposed to sticking to one. It is crucial, therefore, for students to gain skills they need to be adaptable and competitive not only on the national but also the international scene.

Learning how the world is developing gives students a good idea of what careers to get into or else the poor choices, many a time, make people frustrated leading to poor performance, low productivity or simply settling at workplaces because it usually is too late to turn back.

Therefore, in understanding the importance of career guidance, students are able to align the courses with these talents, interests or abilities. Students will pursue their career goals with focus and dedication and keep abreast with developments and changes to their particular careers. Choosing the right career leads to contentment and yields better performance at a job.

UNDECIDED? ASK US

How do I calculate my GPA and CGPA and how do I know that my CGPA is good or bad?
Precious Namuli, Makerere University Business School
Hello Precious, One of the most confusing things to most university students in Uganda is how the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is calculated. Most students make the mistake of simply adding up the scores in each course unit and dividing by the number of course units taken that semester to get the Grade Point Average (GPA). Another mistake students make is a compounding one. This is where they add all the GPAs and divide by the number of semesters to get the CGPA. This is a wrong way of calculating CGPA and may leave one thinking that the university is cheating them.
What is calculated?
Each subject usually comes with a credit value, what most universities call credit units. Some less important course units carry between 1 to 2 credits, more important ones carry 3 to 4, and the core course units can carry between 5 to 8 credits each.
For each subject you have successfully studied, a grade will be issued after the final exam. These grades each carry a specific point value. Normally, “A” carries 4.00, “B” carries 3.00 and “C” carries 2.00. Each of these points will be calculated based on the credit rating of each subject, and later summed up to give you your GPA for that particular semester. For example:
Semester 1
Subject A (6 credits): B = 3.00
Subject B (2 credits): A = 4.00
Subject C (3 credits): C = 2.00
(6 x 3.00) + (2 x 4.00) + (3 x 2.00) = 32 total grade point for 11 credits. Hence, your GPA for semester 1 is:
32 / 11 = 2.91 GPA for Sem 1. Since this is your first semester, your GPA is also your CGPA.
Semester 2
Subject D (6 credits): A = 4.00
Subject E (3 credits): B = 3.00
Subject F (3 credits): E = 0.00 (FAIL) or RT for Retake
Subject G (2 credits): B = 3.00
(6 x 4.00) + (3 x 3.00) + (3 x 0.00) + (2 x 3.00) = 39 total grade point for 14 credits. Hence your GPA for semester 2 is:
39 / 14 = 2.79 GPA for Sem 2
Now, that this is your second semester, your CGPA will be calculated by combining the two. However, a direct average is wrong. CGPA is calculated NOT based on the average of GPAs per semester, but based on grade points per credit that you take. To calculate your CGPA based on the two semesters above:
[(total grade point for Sem 1) + (total grade point for Sem 2)] / total credit taken in all semesters
[(32) + (39)] / (11 + 14) = 2.84 CGPA
Now, let us try the next semester where you retake the failed subject:
Semester 3
Subject R (3 credits): A = 4.00 (REPEATED SUBJECT)
Subject T (3 credits): B = 3.00
Subject U (3 credits): B = 3.00
Subject V (3 credits): B = 3.00
(3 x 4.00) + (3 x 3.00) + (3 x 3.00) + (3 x 3.00) = 39 total grade point for 12 credits.
Hence your GPA for semester 3 is:
39 / 12 = 3.25 GPA.
Now, how does one calculate his CGPA when he is repeated a subject also known as retake? The main rule is that: you recalculate the retaken course unit by replacing the old grade with the new one. It means, in your CGPA calculation, you never failed your subject R, you actually scored A! Consider what it looks like:
([(Grade points for Sem 1) + (grade points for Sem 2 excluding the failed subject) + (grade points for Sem 3)])/([(credit for Sem 1) + (credit for Sem 2 excluding the failed subject) + (credit for Sem 3)] )
([(32) + (39 – 0) + (39)] )/([(11) + (14 – 3) + (12)] )= 110/34=3.24 CGPA
A number of students usually make the mistake of including the failed subject into the calculation despite having repeated it.

Implications
Wrong calculations would lead to students being afraid to fail, simply because the impression that failed subjects would drag the CGPA even further down. This is wrong. Repeating or retaking the failed subject replaces the old grades. In your CGPA, it is as if you have never failed before. Most students would simply accept a C- or D+, which is usually the minimum passing rate in hope that they do not have to ever repeat the subject, and hopefully score more subjects in time.
The thing is, once you have gotten a D+/C-, it is very hard to draw near and drag your pointers up. I would strongly advise you and other students that are in the end concerned for their grades to venture/dare to fail and retake. Of course, certain subjects are big enough that retaking means you have to extend another semester.

Well, if it means graduating between a 2nd class lower and a 2nd class upper, no problem? The only situations a retake would not make sense is if it would imply that you graduate a year later than your counterparts.
To know how good or bad your CGPA is, actually depends on how committed you are to your studies. Establish a realistic academic plan for yourself and this will help to motivate you to attain a good CGPA. Hope this helps. (James Asile Droti CURRICULUM SPECIALIST National Curriculum Development Centre)