125,463 students who sat for 2019 KCSE get university placement

Out of 689,007 students who sat for 2019 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, only 125, 463 students who attained mean grades of C+ were be eligible for placement to  university as government-sponsored students.

The remaining 563,544 were eligible for placement to TVET programmes at Diploma,  Craft  Certificate  and Artisan Certificate levels.

This was said by Education CS George Magoha’s Tuesday during the release of the 2020/2021 placement of Government-sponsored students to universities and colleges at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

He noted that the placement of students to universities targeted the 2019 KCSE examination group, while the placement to TVET institutions targeted both the 2019 group and youth from previous examination years dating back to 1994.

The placement was done by the Ministry of Education, through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

With regard to available capacities, he said the universities declared 145,129 vacancies for government sponsored students, while TVET Institutions declared 276,163.

“Following  the  successful  completion  of  the  placement  process,  122,831  candidates  have secured  placement  to  degree  courses  in  universities  while  88,724  got  placed  in  TVET institutions.  Of those placed in TVET, 53,726 will be admitted to Diploma; 29,112 to Craft Certificate and 5,886 to Artisan Certificate courses.” He said.

He noted that the TVET number is expected to increase once the Ministry receives returns from institutions where students may have registered directly and that the Placement Service undertakes continuous placement of students to TVET institutions, which will further grow the enrolment.

A gender analysis  of the placement to  degree  courses indicate that  70,050  (57.03%)  are male and 52,781 (42.97%) female.

In TVET, the male students are 39,695 (44.74%) while the female students are 49,029 (55.26%).

He was pleased  to report that 2,632 candidates who scored C+ and above in the  2019  KCSE  examination  and  qualified  for  placement  to  Degree  programmes  opted  for Diploma  courses in TVET institutions, and were placed  appropriately.

“This number has been growing over time.  In 2019, the number was 1,269.  The growing number of these “TVET Champions” is a clear indication that concerted efforts to improve enrolment in TVET courses are yielding fruits.” He reported.

He said that pursuant  to  the  Universities  Act,  2012  and  the  Placement  Policy,  the  Placement  Service applied  Affirmative  Action  criteria  for  applicants  living  with  disabilities,  those  from marginalised regions and for gender with 331  applicants  with disabilities  have  been given  their  top priority courses for which they met the minimum admission requirements.

In  addition,  specific  programmes  cut-off  points  he said were  lowered  by  two  for  applicants  from marginalised  regions,  and  1,638  benefited.

A  similar  concession  benefited  679  applicants under Gender Affirmative Action (624 female, 55 male).  The total number of applicants who have benefited from Affirmative Action are therefore 2,648.

“This  year’s  placement  data  indicates  that  of  the  122,831  applicants  placed  to  Degree courses,  66,661  (54.27%)  will  join  Science,  Technology,  Engineering  and  Mathematics (STEM)  programmes,  which  are  critical  for  producing  skilled  workforce  required  for  the attainment of the “Big Four” Agenda. The remaining 56,170 (45.73%) have been placed to Arts and Humanities. ”

Of  the  applicants placed  to STEM,  42,267  (63.41%)  are  male  while 24,394  (36.59%)  are female.

He noted that some  degree  programmes  in  some  universities  did  not  attract  applicants and he directed the universities offering those programmes to establish why  they are not attractive and implement corrective measures.

Students as well as universities and colleges can access the placement details through their respective  portals  on  the  Placement  Service  website.   Applicants  will  also  be  notified individually through Short Text Messages.

The  Placement Service  will conduct  the Inter-Institution Transfer  process online  following the laid down procedures while ensuring adherence to timelines for students who may wish to change their programmes and institutions.

Universities  and  colleges  were asked  to  contact  their  respective  students  and  give them joining instructions and fast-tract the start of their academic journey given that most universities have continued with online learning during this era of COVID-19 restrictions.