By Agatha N. Biira
When Kefa Senoga was in his second year at Uganda Christian University (UCU), he got the idea to pursue another degree besides what he was doing. After his last semester of the Bachelor of Arts in Education in December 2020, he immediately enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication. At the time of graduation, he was in his second year of journalism.
Asking why he chose to take on journalism even after completing education, Senoga said it seemed like the right thing to do. “I had an opportunity to teach in a big government school both in my second and third year of internship. I loved the experience, but I had bigger ambitions than just the classroom, “Senoga said.
Transitioning to journalism was not a hard thing for him to do because he was still in the same environment. He says the only challenge he faced was choosing between pursuing a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s. Some people wanted me to do a master’s, including my best lecturers in education. But then, the opportunity I got was for a Bachelor’s, which I couldn’t lose,” Senoga said.
With the hope of being a great journalist or public relations expert one day, he noticed that journalism would best compliment his former course since he was specializing in English and Literature. It feels good to be doing something I love. I loved it more than education,” Senoga added.
Senoga is one of many people who choose to pursue a different academic path right away.Unlike many that are influenced by their parents, this was not the case for him.
“It was a personal choice to take on this kind of study. My family was supportive because they knew that I loved journalism,” Senoga said. It’s not like I wasted time doing the first course. I wanted to have training, knowledge and qualifications from both courses. I will work with these two and probably upgrade to a master’s degree and eventually a doctorate if God wishes,” he added.
Daniel Manzi, who was pursuing a Bachelor of Laws at Makerere University, decided to change to a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication at UCU. Now in his second year, he says it was an easier option for him. “I just felt like I wasn’t ready and needed something I would be more capable of doing,” Manzi said.
Mark Wandera, now pursuing a Bachelor of Laws, says it was primarily his father’s decision. After finishing his final semester of Industrial Art at UCU in 2021, he enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws program.At first, I wasn’t okay with it. But I have adjusted and I am moving along,” Wandera said.
Christa Oluka, the Director of Admissions at UCU, says most students change courses because the program is more difficult than they had anticipated and they feel they might be successful in another career choice.
“Students may opt to change a program of study for various reasons. Some students start a program and lose interest after being exposed to some of the content. Others were not given sufficient career guidance when initially making their choice of program to study, whereas others got scholarship opportunities in different programs that they wanted to compete for,” Oluka said.
