Pre-entry exams change university admissions

 June 8, 2014

 Written by Moses Talemwa

Julius Ahumuza had always dreamt of life as a lawyer, and was looking forward to study a degree in
law at university.

However, being a day scholar at Kitante Hill Secondary School, presented him with special hurdles. And
when his A-level results came out this year, there was little to celebrate. His highest score was a B in
Literature, followed by C in History and D in Economics, a credit 4 in General Paper and a fail in
Subsidiary Mathematics. In all, he scored 13 points out of a possible 20.

However, his redemption came in the form of a law pre-entry exam, which he passed with 63 per cent,
leaving others who had passed their A-levels with higher marks seething. Ahumuza and his classmate
Emmanuel Luwaga (who also scored less than 18 points) are some of the fortunate few to be admitted
for the bachelor of Laws degree at Makerere, on the government scholarship.

They achieved the feat of getting admitted to the in-demand programme, without scoring the highest
marks attainable on their A-levels. Ahumuza’s example shows that technically one only needs to pass
their A-levels with at least two principals and pass the pre-entry test highly to make it. The exams are
aptitude tests, both oral and written, set on current affairs that high school graduates are expected to
know.

According to the spokesperson for the school of Law at Makerere University, Harriet Musinguzi, they are
looking for students with a higher emotional intelligence, and not just the best A-level scores.

“[In the past] staff here were concerned that some of those scoring quadruple A’s at A-level were not
able to reflect their abilities in class work,” Musinguzi told The Observer. “Now we are looking for a
student with a sense of maturity, who can confidently express themselves, is aware of what is going on
around them … not those who concentrate on passing their A-levels and nothing else.”

The school of law started setting these exams three years ago, and the deputy dean in charge of
Administration, Peter Wandera, confirms that they are continuing with the pre-entry exams for the next
two years.

“We have an understanding with the university council and senate to carry out these [exams] for four
years, and then assess the progress of an entire cohort over the four years of the course … because we
want to be sure that we are getting the best students for the course,” Wandera says.

However, not everyone is happy with the development. Johnson Mukasa is a parent whose daughter
passed her A-levels with straight A’s but missed out on admission, after obtaining just 48 per cent on the
pre-entry exam.

“This is just a money making thing for Makerere, designed to frustrate those schools that have been
dominating admissions to the course … otherwise why should they leave out these students?” he asks.

Wandera admits that there is a growing trend in admission on this course.

“Yes there was a time when those admitted to this course were from just three or four secondary
schools, and that was not a problem, what was the issue is having students, who simply cram their way
to straight A’s, but are unable to perform in law school,” he explains.

Asked about this, the deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr Ernest Okello-Ogwang, cryptically
weighed in.

“The expectation is that a straight-A student should pass the pre-entry exam right away, if they fail then
there is an issue,” he says.

However, Mukasa has issues with some of the questions on the test.

“I hear that they asked them such mundane things as what is a selfie, who is the deputy chief justice …
how much thinking is invested in answering such questions, if what they are looking for, is a student
who is able to think through a problem?” he asks rhetorically.

As Mukasa muses at his misfortune, there is an indication that more colleges at Makerere are
considering the trend set by the school of Law. Sources in the university senate at Makerere have
indicated that the college of Engineering Design and Art (Cedat) as well as the college of Health Science
are looking at the possibility of setting pre-entry exams for incoming students.

Pre-entry exams elsewhere

However, until the school of Law completes a study on those who have attended the pre-entry exams,
there will be no more institutions allowed to set these assessments at undergraduate level. Before
Makerere started setting pre-entry exams, the Uganda Christian University in Mukono (UCU) opened the
doors to aptitude tests in 2009, in response to public pressure at the high failure rate on the bar course
at Law Development Centre (LDC).

At the time, the dean of the faculty of Law at UCU, Dr Pamela Kalyegira, explained that the exams were
designed to weed out problem students – those who struggle to pass law.

“Law is a very intensive course and requires one to study and carry out debates – skills that are taught in
literature classes. If you haven’t done the subject and simply come in because you excelled in something
like Luganda, it means that it is going to be very hard for you to pass,” Kalyegira told The Observer.

A year later, the LDC also started setting the exams, which carry a 50 per cent pass mark. Officials at the
LDC declined to comment on the effectiveness of the pre-entry exams, as a study on their effectiveness
is yet to be completed, however many there argue that the failure rate on the postgraduate bar course
has been falling over the year.

Elsewhere, Makerere University’s college of Business and Management Sciences (Cobams) sets pre-
entry exams for students seeking to do the masters in Business Administration. Set on the foundation of
the US based Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the test is a prerequisite for admission.

At the Uganda Martyrs University in Nkozi (UMU), all students seeking a postgraduate qualification are
also required to sit the GMAT. And according to a lecturer there, no one failing this test can get
admission.
“However, occasionally the failure rates are so alarming that the pass rate is lowered from 50 per cent
to as low as 35 per cent, but all the same you have to do the test,” said this lecturer, who declined to be
named. “The best we can do is to allow you to redo the test… but if you fail it that is the end.”