University and college placement out: All admitted apart from 7,000 who did not apply
By Ivy Maloy
More than 7,850 students who sat for the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations did not apply for University or College Placement. Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha who released results of the placements Tuesday said of the 142,540 candidates who qualified for degree programmes, 134,690 applied for courses of their choice and were placed.
“As far as placement is concerned, a sizeable number slightly over 7000 did not apply and I have accordingly been advised that if they did not apply, we have no business placing them because in the first place, we revised three times,” Magoha said.
“But the good news is, all the candidates who applied to be placed in universities and colleges have been placed and majority of them will pursue courses of their choice.”
The CS noted that candidates who qualify for university admission are increasingly embracing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses as 6,617 students who attained C+ and above chose TVET programmes and were placed, up from 2,632 in 2019.
“Everybody who applied for TVET has been admitted and they can join sequentially. There will be a group that is coming in January. There are also many of them that went direct, it is quicker and the fact that even the crème dela crème are starting to go there voluntarily is something that we must appreciate,” Magoha said.
The CS pointed out that more than double increase was a welcome development that signals the changing attitude towards TVET. He added that the government has built and equipped TVET institutions in every county to ensure that youths access quality technical training and move the country towards achieving 100 percent transition to tertiary education.
Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) said it applied Affirmative Action criteria for gender, disability and applicants from marginalized regions. Affirmative action is intended to give youths from these special categories a chance to enroll in programmes that they would not otherwise pursue due to competition.
A total of 2,225 applicants benefited from affirmative action consideration this year. 747,161 candidates sat for KCSE exams in April and May under strict COVID-19 protocols.
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