Nearly 600,000 Qualified Students Not Placed to Universities and Colleges
It has come to light that nearly 600,000 students who took the Form Four national examinations last year cannot be placed, despite having qualified for placement in universities and colleges.
Only 285,167 students submitted applications for placement at universities and institutions out of the 870,561 candidates who were eligible.
This indicates that 585,394 individuals had no interest in enrolling in college or university, as they did not submit any applications. A few, however, searched out places in postsecondary institutions independently.
These include 23,515 students who earned a grade of C+ or higher and were eligible for degree programs but did not indicate any interest during the placement process. This is the shocking information disclosed by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Monday when he released university and college placement data.
According to Machogu, the admission trends reflected in the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement System (KUCCPS) data are concerning.
“We are concerned because 23,125 degree-eligible applicants did not apply to any programme, 136,592 diploma-eligible applicants, representing 63.94 percent, did not apply, and 249,149 certificate-eligible applicants, representing 86.42 percent, have applied,” he said.
Concerns have been raised as to whether the new financing model discouraged many students from enrolling in courses because they believed they had no chance of receiving government scholarships.
Universities were required to declare their available capacities, the courses they teach, and their associated costs under the new funding plan.
Insiders argue that many parents and students may have believed they would be unable to secure scholarships or loans to fund their education and, as a result, chose not to apply.
“During this Placement Cycle, KUCCPS published the prices for all programs offered by Universities, Colleges, National Polytechnics, and other TVET institutions. This was to assist students in making decisions based on the financial ramifications, study program, and institution they wished to enroll in, said Machogu.
For the first time, when deciding where to send their children to college, parents were able to browse university programs and see the associated costs.
According to the government, financing for students will be divided into four categories: vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy.
Families were also able to evaluate their financial capacity and eligibility for government scholarships while selecting courses.
Scholarships
This indicates that parents and guardians may have selected courses that they could entirely fund if their children were not awarded scholarships.
Despite this, universities and colleges are also being criticized for failing to attract students to enroll in their programs after it was revealed that they had declared a total available capacity of 768,624 seats.
This, according to Machogu, is the total number of available spaces reported by the 69 universities, 210 TVET institutions, and three Secondary Teacher Training Colleges.
According to the KUCCPS, only 285,167 students were granted admission into degree, diploma, craft certificate, and artisan courses at 282 training institutions, as stated by the CS. This indicates that approximately 483 457 vacancies exist across universities and institutions.
In her remarks at the unveiling of the placement data, KUCCPS Executive Director Mercy Wahome also described the trend as shocking.
In addition, KUCCPS data indicates that elite public universities that formerly attracted tens of thousands of students during placements saw a decline in enrollment.
This is due to the fact that for the first time, students were able to make decisions based on the course expenses displayed on the KUCCPS portal.
Overall, only 140,107 students were enrolled in university programs, according to Machogu. 130,484 were accepted into public universities.
Another 9,622 to private universities, indicating that they rejected government aid in favor of private institutions.
According to the new financing plan introduced by President William Ruto, students who apply to private universities are ineligible for scholarships. However, they qualify for loans.
This indicates that nearly 10,000 pupils visited the KUCCPS website and opted to decline government scholarships.
And the number of students who chose private universities this time is comparable to the number of students who were previously placed in these government-funded institutions.
The funding of these students at private universities was met with staunch opposition from different groups, including the leadership of public institutions.
Yesterday, Machogu reported that 144,500 individuals were placed in TVETs and 560 in secondary teacher training colleges.
Additionally, he stated that 9,673 graduates of degree programs opted to enroll in TVET institutions.
What is surprising, however, is the low number of students enrolling in higher education courses, resulting in massive waste. Dr. Wahome also indicated that more male students enrolled in degree programs while more female students pursued TVET programs.
Charles Ringera, chief executive officer of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), stated that students will be able to determine their classification within 45 days.
More than 45,000 university students and 42,000 TVET students categorized as vulnerable and exceedingly needy will be fully funded with Government Scholarships and Loans, according to Machogu.
The successful candidates will be the first to be admitted to universities under the new government funding paradigm announced on May 2 by the President. They will enroll in college in September.
According to Machogu, the new funding paradigm will allocate government support on the basis of need.
In this year’s placement cycle, the placement authority was also responsible for placing students in Kenya Medical Training College and teaching colleges.
According to Machogu, the placement process for the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and 32 Primary Teacher Training Colleges is ongoing.
“I strongly encourage all eligible students to apply for these programs,” he said.
Machogu added, “Our objective is to collaborate with other line ministries to centralize the placement of students in all colleges in the country through KUCCPS.”
Nearly 600,000 Qualified Students Not Placed to Universities and Colleges
