The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has directed the Law Development Centre (LDC) to provide a response on the issues raised in a petition by some students.
On July 12, more than 1,000 students of the bar course petitioned NCHE accusing the LDC administration of breach of bar course rules on handling examination results.
It followed LDC's release of the graduation list last month which indicated 90 per cent of the 1,682 students had failed.
However, several students who missed out on graduation complained that it was wrong for LDC to release the list without providing students with marks or exam scripts.
Among the discrepancies cited by the students were that some discontinued students appeared on the graduation list and that LDC failed to provide a window for appeals and verification of marks before graduation.
In a July 16 letter to the petitioners by Prof Mary Okwakol, the NCHE executive director, she noted that Section 5 (f) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institution Act 2001 (as amended) mandates NCHE to receive and investigate complaints relating to institutions of higher education and take appropriate action.
"In line with the above mandate, NCHE wrote to LDC drawing their attention to your petition and requesting for a response on the issues raised," reads part of the letter addressed to the student petitioners. "Any outcome therefrom will be communicated to you."
The letter is copied to the Attorney General, the Uganda Law Society president as well as the chairperson, Committee on Legal Education-Training.
It remains unclear what timeframe NCHE gave LDC to respond but a source at LDC who preferred anonymity said the institution was given two weeks to do so and will provide a detailed response next week.
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