By Yasiri J Kasango and Gloria Katya
A total of 3,368 students are slated to graduate on Friday, October 22, 2021, during the 22nd Graduation ceremony of Uganda Christian University (UCU). Janet Kataaha Museveni, Minister of Education and Sports, who is also a former graduate of UCU and wife of the Uganda president, will be the chief guest.
This is the second time UCU is conducting a virtual graduation because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first virtual graduation was held on December 12, 2020.
This ceremony will have the highest number of graduates in a single graduation since the University’s inception in 1997. The students are graduating with diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, masters and PhDs in different disciplines.
The total graduating population is made up of 1,711 females and 1,657 males. Of these, 95 excelled with First Class Degrees. A few of the students who garnered first class will have the privilege to attend the graduation in-person at the UCU main campus in Mukono district, central Uganda.
The overall best student, Sore Moureen, scored a 4.78 Cumulative Grade Point Average out of 5.0. She receives a Bachelor of Human Resource Management.
Jonathan Mbabazi, a graduand who has achieved a first-class degree in Bachelor of Business Administration, was full of praises to God for the feat.
“Despite all the challenges I faced, such as selling charcoal to raise school fees, I thank God for helping me complete and pass highly,” Jonathan Mbabazi said.
Another graduand, Marvin Charles Masoolo, who pursued the Bachelor of Public Administration and Management, said: “I always had a dream to graduate, though the outbreak of Covid-19 had threatened it. I’m going to the world to become a leader of economic transformation.”
In observance of the Covid-19 guidelines, dictated by the Uganda Ministry of Health, UCU can host not more than 200 special guests, including students, parents, and University top management staff. These will include the Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi; Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics, the Rev. Dr John Kitayimbwa; and David Mugawe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration; as well as deans and heads of departments.
The university administration has selected the best two students from each of the graduating courses to attend the event. The administration resolved to invite both a male and female student. Unlike the previous graduations where a student would come with both parents, this time, the in-person student will only be allowed to come with one guest.
The graduation ceremony will also be graced by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu who also doubles as the University’s chancellor. Kaziimba is expected to lead a Commissioning Service at the graduation ceremony, where he will pray for the students and commit them to the Lord.
The event will be broadcast live on Uganda Broadcasting Corporation UBC TV for students who will not attend physically to follow the ceremony. The venue of the physical event will be the University’s main new soccer match pitch.
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