Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Higher Education and Research, Dr. Beatrice Inyangala, has met with various stakeholders before placing the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates into various universities.
In a statement on March 13, Inyangala said the discussions focused on university capacity and the criteria the Commission for University Education (CUE) used to determine program capacities in public institutions.
“Today, we convened a crucial forum to prepare for the seamless placement of the KCSE 2024 cohort into universities in September 2025,” read the statement in part.
“Discussions focused on university capacity and the criteria used by the Commission for University Education (CUE) to determine programme capacities in public institutions.”
PS Inyangala Issues Update on University Placements for KCSE 2024 Cohort
At the same time, the State Department for Higher Education and Research emphasized the need for efficiency and transparency in student placement to guarantee equitable access to quality education.
Also Read: Blow to Govt as High Court Rules on University Funding Model
This comes after education CS Julius Ogamba in February announced that placement portal would open 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,” Ogamba said.
More than a month since the release of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education- KCSE 2024 results, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is yet to open the portal to allow students to select university courses.
Why KUCCPS Has not Yet Opened Portal
While appearing before Members of Parliament on Thursday, February 20, KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Agnes Wahome said the delay was also due to a court ruling that declared the new university funding model unconstitutional.
She mentioned that the judgment delivered by Justice Chacha Mwita on December 20 2024 did not provide clear guidance on how to handle students, including those already placed in various courses.
Also Read: CS Ogamba Reveals When KUCCPS Portal Will Open
Wahome further revealed that, to avert a funding crisis in higher education, the placement service had to delay opening its portal for university applications until the matter is resolved.
“The judgement that was delivered by Justice Mwita on the 20th did not give a direction on how to treat students even those that we had placed two years ago and the direction moving forward when he said it was unconstitutional,” Wahome said.
“Looking at where we have come from, we were trying to avert the funding crisis in the Higher education institutions.”
Court Declines to Lift Orders Quashing New University Funding Model
In a February ruling, the High Court declined to lift orders quashing the new university funding model following an appeal by the government, which described it as unconstitutional and unfair.
In his ruling, Justice Chacha Mwita said the scales of justice favored those who opposed the model, declaring that public interest is best served when all parties act within the law.
He criticized the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), CS Ogamba, and the Attorney General for their contradictory actions, noting that while they had moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend his judgment, they simultaneously claimed their intention to comply with the orders.
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