Mother storms Kyambogo varsity over daughter's retakes

Ms Lydia Nandala, a teacher at Nabuyonga Primary School in Mbale District, yesterday stormed Kyambogo University demanding answers on why her daughter was denied a chance to retake a paper.
Ms Nandala said  her daughter will not graduate for the second year running because of the retake.
She said: “My daughter and many people’s children have suffered a lot at Kyambogo University…The people in the offices are so merciless.”
Adding: “I paid for the paper. She was told to go back and do the paper in May. She then comes back in May and she is tossed up and down and you say she will redo the paper in November.”

Her daughter, Ms Patience Muyama, is a student of Library and Information Science. She joined the institution in 2019. Her course is scheduled to run for two years but failed to make it in last year’s graduation because of a retake in the research methodology course unit.
“It all started with lecturers delaying to release our results in time. When we complained, they told us that the delays came due to a system breakdown. So we waited to retake the paper this year. However, we were denied a chance,” Ms Muyama said.

Plight  of students
She said 10 students were affected but only three have been following up on the authorities to sit the retake. Ms Muyama said the rest gave up due to frustration.
Ms Nandala and her daughter first confronted the Academic Registrar who asked the student to go back to his office with a formal letter.
The duo proceeded to the office of the head of the department, Ms Robina Namuleme, who had assured the students that they would do the exams in May 2023.

“I need to go back to Mbale after knowing the fate of this girl, if you are not ready to get her exams to graduate this December, it is useless. Let me know so that I can go back with her and we grow tomatoes or she becomes a housemaid if that is what you want. You keep tossing people’s children heartlessly,” Ms Nandala said while in Ms Namuleme’s office.
Ms Nandala added: “This is the only child I have in life. But you are tossing my child to move up and down every now and then, year in and year out, you want her to be knocked on the way? Will your child come and help me in problems?”

Mr Timony Ariho, a student of the same course, said he was also frustrated.
In reply, Ms Namuleme  said students cannot sit for a paper in the second semester and yet it was initially done in the first semester. 
Ms Jennifer Sibbo, the institution’s public relations officer, advised the students to seek for assistance from her office, where necessary.