Medical students petition parliament over new, controversial retakes policy

Anxiety has gripped the health professional training sector, with a section of students turning to the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda with  an urgent petition against a new, controversial examination policy. 

Led by students like Ocheieng Pius Bryan and Hwingagaba Pius, the petitioners are demanding parliamentary intervention to suspend the regulations recently enacted by the Uganda Health Professions Assessment Board (UHPAB).

The learners have termed the newly introduced “Zero-Retake” Policy as draconian, disproportionate and unjust.

The students, undertaking two- and three-year Certificate and Diploma courses, argue that UHPAB has abandoned established academic precedent. 

Under the new rule, any student in their second-to-last semester who obtains even a single retake in any course unit is automatically barred from proceeding to the final semester.

“This is an arbitrary penalty that prevents completion of the programme,” stated Ocheieng Pius Bryan, citing the petition. 

“Academic institutions are meant to support learning. Barring a student from their final semester for a single retake is not a remedial measure—it is an unjust penalty that causes immense stress and financial hardship.”

The students pointed out that the new policy is not only harsh but also fundamentally contradictory. They highlighted the cross-semester retake policy, which restricts students with two retakes split across different semesters more severely than a student with three retakes from a single semester. 

The petition labels this administrative barrier as "illogical, unscientific, and fundamentally baseless," arguing it violates all principles of rational decision-making.

The petition, supported by over 700 student signatures from at least five institutions, urges Parliament, through the Committee responsible for Education and Health, to take three swift actions:

Issue a directive for the immediate suspension of the new UHPAB policies; mandate UHPAB to revert to the established, reasonable academic policy that only barred progression if a student failed more than fifty percent of units; and compel the Board to ensure comprehensive stakeholder consultation before implementing any future major policy shifts.