KUCCPS: There is capacity for all KCSE candidates to join college and universities

Kenya has the capacity to accommodate all Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination candidates in tertiary institutions.

The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services CEO Dr Mercy Wahome said all candidates sitting the KCSE exam have an opportunity to join institutions of higher learning to pursue a course of their choice.

KUCCPS can place students in private and public colleges and universities for courses approved by the government, she said.

Speaking in Nakuru after supervising the opening and distribution of KCSE materials, Dr Wahome urged teachers to continue uploading the course application forms that students filled before the exams began in the KUCCPS systems before the window closes on April 1.

She explained that students will be given an opportunity to revise the courses once the results are out in April.

“We have opportunities in both government and private institutions for all the 800,000 candidates sitting the exams, as we do not have a shortage of colleges, universities and TVETs (Technical and Vocational Education and Training),” she said.

But she lamented cases of exam cheating.

She appealed to teachers and exam managers to discourage students from engaging in exam malpractices because they all have chances of joining tertiary institutions irrespective of the grades they get.

She explained that the majority of students are ignorant of the opportunities provided by the government, adding that students would be helped to embrace courses that will help them in their careers.

She encouraged students to change their attitudes to technical courses such as agriculture, which are aligned to the government’s Big Four agenda.

A majority of applications received by KUCCPS are for medicine, nursing and engineering courses, Dr Wahome said.

“We have so far received about 50,000 applications for nursing and medicine and over 5,000 for engineering courses. We are encouraging students to think outside courses as the world is changing,” she said.

She urged students, with the help of their career teachers, to continue filing their applications in the KUCCPS system, which I open to schools until April.