Over 50,000 university-eligible students miss out on KUCCPS placement despite meeting entry grade
Although a significant number of eligible candidates missed out on placement, those who applied appeared to favour degree programmes in engineering and medicine.
Despite attaining the minimum university entry grade in the 2024 KCSE exam, over 50,000 students were either not placed or did not apply for placement through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
Speaking during the release of the placement results, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed that 42,000 students who qualified for university and college admission chose not to apply for placement, while another 7,000 applicants were not successfully placed.
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“The students who scored C+ and above, we have 7,640 who elected to go to TVET institutions other than a university. We have 6,750 who chose to join KMTC and other institutions and primary TTCs,” Ogamba said.
Although a significant number of eligible candidates missed out on placement, those who applied appeared to favour degree programmes in engineering and medicine. However, there was also a notable increase in interest in teaching courses.
The Education Ministry said the primary teacher diploma course received 20,786 applications against a declared capacity of 13,823. A total of 11,636 students were placed in this programme.
Kenya Medical Training Colleges (KMTCs) across the country also drew high numbers, with 52,725 students applying for various programmes. Of these, 25,034 were placed, with nursing attracting the highest number of applicants.
“Other KMTC programmes that are in high demand are Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Medical Emergency Technician and Community Health, among others,” Ogamba said.
Out of the 25,034 students placed in KMTCs, 6,750 had scored C+ and above in the 2024 KCSE examination.
KUCCPS portal remains open
The Ministry said the KUCCPS portal remains open for students who have not yet applied, and the Higher Education Fund (HEF) portals are also accepting applications for education financing.
This comes as the Ministry of Education announced that it had reviewed and revised university costs downwards by up to 40 per cent in a bid to enhance access to higher education. The Ministry noted that the cost of university education has now been reduced by between 15 and 40 per cent.
The Ministry added that the government arrived at this revision after updating the means testing instruments to better reflect students’ financial circumstances.
Parameters now factored into the means testing include the amount of school fees previously paid by the student’s family, the size of their farms, household medical expenses, and even applications to the Hustler Fund.
“We are capturing all these in order to place students as close as possible to their actual financial situation. The goal is to make education as affordable and accessible to all,” Ogamba said.
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