Over 400 plan to terrorise Makerere for missing on graduation list

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CHRISTOPHER TUSIIME

As Makerere's 67th graduation ceremony draws, it has been discovered that over 400 students are planning to storm the main building after they realised they are missing on the final graduation list.

According to the academic affairs minister Tomson Tayebwa, the issue was raised by angry students who have been affected and the 82nd guild government is pledging its support in all forms if the university does not rectify the mess immediately.

"It has come to my attention that over 400 eligible students who have fulfilled all the requirements for graduation are missing in the final graduation lists where some of them appeared in the 1st and 2nd draft lists to their dismay, the final lists were printed without their names in the list," Tayebwa told Journalism@Mak.

Tayebwa has now asked the university council to resolve the matter forthwith because it violates the principles of natural justice and also breaches the contract between students and the university.

The students, who demanded for anonymity, say they have been patient enough with the university and cannot accept waiting for next year to graduate.

However, the vice chancellor of the university Prof John Ddumba Ssentamu, during an interview with Journalims@Mak, first denied knowledge about the issue, but later said those students may be missing on the list because they delayed verifying with the institution.

"Verifying students for graduation actually started last year in September. We kept pushing the deadline until about two weeks back... graduation is just next week and the booklets with names of graduands are already out; how can we add them now," the economics professor wondered.

But Tayebwa maintains that the issue of eligible students missing on final graduation lists isn't new at Makerere and every thing possible will be done to bring it to an end.