Varsities intake report set for launch

Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha take their oath of office at State House, Nairobi during their swearing-in ceremony witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta. [File, Standard]

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha will tomorrow launch a new report on this year’s university and colleges intake.

The report, which will detail the courses and number of students that have been absorbed, will be released by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

Some of the aspects the report will look at include the most and least competitive courses and best and worst degree programmes.

The public will get an opportunity to know where last year’s top Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates will take their next courses and the degree programmes that have the most and least intakes. Also lined up are courses facing redundancy due to zero intakes.

One out of every seven students who sat last year’s KCSE qualified. A total of 90,377 students who scored a mean of C+ are eligible for university entry.

The students will grab the available slots for undergraduate studies in the 32 public universities and university colleges as well as private institutions of higher learning.

The number of students who qualified for the intake increased by about 29 per cent compared to 2017 when there were 70,073 managed C+ grades.

Of students who sat KCSE in 2017, KUCCPS absorbed 74,000 to study degree and diploma courses in public, private and mid-level tertiary learning institutions.

John Muraguri, the CEO of Placement Services, said this move was made to enable students choose courses they qualify for as well meet the qualifications set by professional bodies.

In 2016, KUCCPS placed 74,389 to public and another 10,000 to private universities.