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Tag: university admission

  • Gov’t has not reintroduced cut-off points for university admission, CS Ogamba clarifies

    Gov’t has not reintroduced cut-off points for university admission, CS Ogamba clarifies

    Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has dismissed reports that the government has reintroduced cut-off points for university admission.

    In a statement, Ogamba said all 246,391 students who attained a C+ and above in the 2024 KCSE exams qualify for university admission under the existing criteria.

    “The government has not reintroduced cut-off points for university admission. The minimum requirement, which applies to the 2024 KCSE cohort, is a mean grade of C+,” Ogamba stated.

    The CS also addressed concerns about funding stating that only Ksh25.85 billion will be required to support the university education of the 2024 KCSE cohort and not Ksh100 billion as speculated.

    He explained that the Ksh100 billion projection accounts for the total cost over four years.

    Ogamba further disclosed that the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will open the university placement portal for the September 2025 intake in March.

    Meanwhile, applications for Kenya Medical Training College, Teacher Training Colleges, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions have been ongoing since January 24.

    “We remain committed to providing quality, relevant, and inclusive education that is accessible and equitable. We will continue working with all stakeholders to achieve this goal,” the CS affirmed.

  • State to revise university admission letters in August

    State to revise university admission letters in August

    Students set to join universities will receive revised fee structures indicating a specific amount payable per household starting July 31st.

    Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee, Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Muganda says the government will only revise the admission letters after categorization is done to establish how much the government will pay per student.

    This comes even as MPs took issue with the Commission for University Education for validating some universities to admit more students than their capacity.

    The PS indicated the new letters will be sent starting July 31st after the Higher Education loans board completes the categorization process to establish how much the government will pay per students.

    MPs also called for linking the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service with the HELB system to ease the admission process.

    The Committee stepped down the Commission for University Education for validating some universities to admit more students than their capacity.

    The MPs will engage the higher education stakeholders next week on the mean testing instruments to be applied in the categorization of students.

  • MPs want University admission letters recalled 

    MPs want University admission letters recalled 

    Members of Parliament want the Government to recall admission letters issued to University students expressing concerns over the fee structure.

    The Committee on Education in a meeting with Higher Education PS Beatrice Muganda, KUCCPS and HELB officials, argued the fee structure failed to specify the capitation by government and what was expected to be paid by each parent.

    The Legislators want the fee structure revised to itemize each cost as opposed to a blanket figure.

    This comes after the National Assembly Education Committee engaged the Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Muganda on the new funding model for Universities which they argue is not practical.

    Higher Education Loans Board Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera disclosed they adopted a formulae-based allocation criterion that takes into account each student economic background.

    Under the new financing model, students from families whose income is below Ksh 6,000 will enjoy 95pc of government financing as compared to those whose household income is in excess of Ksh 120,000 who will only get 60pc of government support.

    The lawmakers want the Ministry to reconsider the previous funding model where funding is pegged on the number of undergraduate students registered on the regular programme and the type of course.

  • KUCCPS online application portal reopened for 5 more days

    KUCCPS online application portal reopened for 5 more days

    The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) online application portal has been reopened to give students the third and final chance to choose courses, universities, and colleges afresh.

    The move according to KUCCPS was prompted by the 9 percent of those who qualified for university admission and had not submitted any application.

    The portal will however be closed on Saturday, July 8, 2023.

    In a statement, KUCCPS said that 91 percent of the students who qualified for university admission in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination have applied for placement to higher learning institutions, according to the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

    “An analysis of the application data so far indicates that a total of 157,498 students who attained mean grades of C+ and above have applied, out of the 173,127 Kenyan citizens who qualified for admission to degree courses in the 2022 examination.”

    In addition, KUCCPS says that the current revision of choices, which is the final application phase, also targets candidates who qualified for artisan certificate, craft certificate and diploma courses from the KCSE examinations of 2022 to 2000.

    They are eligible to apply for the courses in government technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and teacher training colleges.

    Following the two-course revision phases that concluded recently, some applicants failed to get any of the courses they listed due to competition as placement is done on merit.

    “I have observed that a lot of students are still fixated with the traditional degree courses like Medicine, which cannot accommodate all the qualified students applying for them,” said Dr. Agnes Mercy Wahome, the KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer.

    This year, for instance, public universities provided a total of 523 slots in Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing degree courses.

    These and similar courses filled up quickly at the first phase of course selection, due to the large number of qualified students who applied for them.

    Students who qualify for these programmes are those with mean grades ranging from B+ to A. In the 2022 examination, 1,156 candidates attained A, 6,658 scored A – (minus) and 15,938 got B+. Therefore, a total of 23,752 students scored these top grades.

    “From the numbers, it is obvious that a student with A – (minus) or B+ is unlikely to get Medicine or any of the other competitive courses,” said Dr. Wahome.

    “However, this does not lock them from enrolling in these courses as Module II students.”

    The mistake that many of the top students do is applying for the traditional courses in universities where the cut-off trend for the programmes is too high, meaning the courses are very competitive, hence they miss.

    As the final selection phase gets underway, previous applicants can confirm if they have secured a course by checking if their student’s portal displays a message indicating if they have secured a chance provisionally or not.

    Any candidate who has secured a provisional placement is not required to reapply. Those who have secured courses should wait for KUCCPS to complete the placement process after which they will be provided with details of their courses and institutions, by September 2023.

    Details of those who are required to select courses afresh have been published on the KUCCPS website, www.kuccps.ac.ke. The students have also been notified by SMS.