Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has revealed when the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will open its portal for the September 2025 university intake.
For several months now, KUCCPS has not opened the portal to allow students to select university courses since the release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results.
In a statement on Thursday, February 28, CS Ogamba announced that the portal will open the placement portal in March 2025 in line with the annual calendar.
“In keeping with the annual placement calendar, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will open the placement portal for the September 2025 university intake in March 2025,” read part of the statement.
KUCCPS portal opened for select courses
The CS announced the date while issuing an update on the admission and funding of the 2024 KCSE cohort.
Already, the KUCCPS portal has been open since January 24, 2025, for the placement of applicants to the Kenya Medical Training Colleges (KMTC), Teacher Training Colleges and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, for the March and May 2025 intakes.
As is always the norm, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Education, during the release of KCSE results, directs KUCCPS to open the portal for students.
Also Read: KUCCPS Explains Why It Has Not Opened Applications for University Selection
The communication was however not made this year, raising many questions.
University entry grade
At the same time, CS Ogamba clarified that the government will not reinstate the cut-off points for this year’s university entry.
The clarification came following reports that the government was planning to adjust cut-off points meaning thousands of students who sat the 2024 KCSE exams and attained the university entry grade could miss out on their dream courses.
In the 2024 KCSE exams, 246,391 candidates attained the university entry grade, 45,258 more than in the 2023 cohort. Among them are 1,693 candidates who scored an A (Plain), a notable rise from 1,216 in 2023.
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On the other hand, 7,743 candidates scored an A-, 19,150 achieved a B+, 43,120 attained a B (Plain), 75,347 scored a B- (Minus), and 99,338 attained a C+ (Plus), which is the minimum university entry grade.
Emerging reports indicated that the government would need at least Ksh26 billion annually to support the growing number of students who scored grade C+ and above.
Ogamba clarifies University entry grade
However, CS Ogamba while issuing a clarification stated that the university entry requirement remains at C+ to ensure all qualified students can enroll in degree programs.
The CS further dismissed some media reports that it will cost Ksh100 billion to fund the university education of the 2024 KCSE cohort.
He said the ministry’s projection is that if all the 246,391 candidates join university, Ksh25.85 billion will be required to fund their education every year.
“The Government has not re-introduced cut-off points for admission to university. The minimum admission requirement to university, which will apply to the 2024 KCSE cohort, is the Mean Grade of C+ (plus). Therefore, all the 246,391 students who attained the Mean Grade of C+ (plus) and above qualify for university admission,” Ogamba said.
“The projection of Ksh100 billion will be the total cost over a four-year period.”
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