KUCCPS To Introduce New Changes To Courses In Policy Shift
Students applying for university admission may soon have the freedom to pursue their selected courses without intervention if a new proposal by MPs is approved.
Currently, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) assigns students to programmes based on available capacity and national balance criteria.
Even if it means assigning a student a course other than their first choice.
MPs propose that the placement procedure focus individual student preferences over institutional or national balancing.
This could put an end to years of dissatisfaction among students who feel driven to pursue unsuitable careers.
This came up during a parliamentary hearing between the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Education and Governance, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and the placement service.
KUCCPS allocates courses by initially allowing students to select many programs during the application process depending on their KCSE results.
Each course has particular subject and cluster point requirements that students must satisfy before being considered.
Qualified applications are then ranked competitively, with top performers given preference for popular courses.
However, if a course or university is full, KUCCPS may assign a student to a lower-ranked option that still meets their requirements.
The approach also takes into account institutional capacity and national equity, occasionally assigning students to various courses or universities to guarantee fair distribution.
This has led to concerns from students who feel forced into programmes they did not prefer—an issue MPs now want to address through reforms.
Meanwhile, lawmakers expressed worry about KUCCPS’ intention to sponsor students at private colleges, despite public universities supposedly having the capacity to accommodate all qualified candidates.
The MPs also challenged KUCCPS, led by CEO Agnes Wahome, to explain why public monies were directed to private institutions without a defined policy.
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“We must ask tough questions when taxpayers’ money is used to support private universities while public ones remain underutilized,” stated Kilome MP Thuddeus Nzambia, who also doubles as the chair of the committee during the session.
Lawmakers also questioned the transparency and accountability of the placement process.
They asked for a breakdown of student placements per institution, capacity disclosures from private universities, and procedures for tracking students after placement.
In response, KUCCPS CEO Wahome said that the district has created a digital platform and policy guidelines to better track student enrollment and placement.
KUCCPS To Introduce New Changes To Courses In Policy Shift
