The Ministry of Education has revealed that over 50,000 candidates failed to apply for university placement despite attaining the minimum entry grade in the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam.
Speaking during the release of the placement results, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed that while 42,000 students who qualified for university and college admission chose not to apply for placement, 7,000 of those who applied were not successfully placed.
Ogamba further revealed that 7,640 students who scored C+ and above applied for placement to TVET institutions, while 6,750 chose to join KMTC, primary Teachers’ Teaching Colleges, and other institutions.
Most of the candidates who applied for university placement, selected degree programmes in engineering and medicine as their top choice.
However, the ministry says it has seen an increase in the interest shown for other courses like primary school teaching diplomas, which received 20,786 applications against a capacity of 13,823. A total of 11,636 students who applied were picked for this course.
Some 52,725 students sought admission to KMTCs, but only 25,034 secured the slots, with nursing being the most in-demand course.
KUCCPS placement results for 2024 KCSE candidates released
“Other KMTC programmes that are in high demand are Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Medical Emergency Technician and Community Health, among others.
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 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 percent 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 percent.
