Anxious wait: KCSE graduates in limbo over university placement

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba during the release of the 2024 KCSE results at Mtihani House, Nairobi, on January 9, 2025. [File, Standard] Anxiety is building over the selection and admission to universities and colleges of more than 962,000 candidates who sat last year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations. Among these are 246,291 who scored C+ and above and qualified for universities admission. Even though there is an ongoing intake for those seeking to join technical colleges, the uncertainty over funding and failure by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba to give direction is causing jitters. Two weeks after the release of the examination results, the Ministry of Education is yet to provide direction on when the student portal will open for applications to join universities under government sponsorship. Further fueling the anxiety is failure by CS Ogamba to communicate the selection and admissions process during the release of examination results, as is the norm. This silence has left parents and students on edge as they anxiously await news on their aspirations to join institutions of higher learning. The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) has also remained silent on the matter weeks after release of the results. The situation marks a departure from tradition, where the Education Cabinet Secretary would instruct the placement agency to commence the selection and placement exercise immediately after the results are announced. In the 2023 KCSE examination cycle, the then Education CS Ezekiel Machogu directed the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to hand over the results to the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to begin the placement process. "I ask KNEC to complete their processes and hand over the final results to KUCCPS to pave the way for the start of the placement process," Machogu said during the release of the 2023 KCSE results. This year, however, government inaction has left 246,291 qualified candidates and their parents in limbo. According to KNEC data, out of the 962,512 candidates who sat the 2024 KCSE examination, 246,391 students attained the minimum university entry grade. Among the top performers, 1,693 candidates scored an A (Plain), a significant increase from 1,216 in 2023. Additionally, 7,743 candidates scored an A-, 19,150 achieved B+, 43,120 attained a B (Plain), 75,347 scored a B- (Minus), and 99,338 received a C+ (Plus), which is the minimum university entry grade. KUCCPS is yet to communicate the available slots in universities for the year. The Standard established that KUCCPS is yet to receive the list of available capacities from universities this year. "We submitted that information to the Commission for University Education (CUE), but it is yet to be presented to KUCCPS," Daniel Mugendi, the chairman of the vice-chancellor's committee, told The Standard. Typically, universities are required to declare the number of slots available for various courses, providing insights into the approved programmes and the capacity of each course. This information helps students make informed choices based on their interests and the financial implications of their chosen programmes. During previous placement cycles, KUCCPS published the cost of all programmes in universities, colleges, national polytechnics, and other TVET institutions to guide students in their decision-making. Adding to the uncertainty is the absence of a clear university financing model. A December court ruling nullified the new funding system introduced in September 2023, declaring it illegal and unconstitutional.

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