Over seven thousand 2020 KCSE students who qualified for the university under government sponsorship failed to take part in the revision exercise subsequently missing out on enrollment.
In the 2020 KCSE examination, some 142,540 candidates obtained the minimum university entry mean grade of C+ plus and above.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service data indicates that 128,073 students were placed to degree courses while 6,617 opted for diploma courses in technical colleges.
“7850 with C+ (Plus) and above failed to apply,” Education CS George Magoha said.
Magoha spoke during the release of the university placement at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development on Tuesday.
https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.the-star.co.ke%2Fnews%2F2021-08-16-2020-kcse-candidates-to-know-university-placement-tuesday%2F&key=ce5765a69808a231f3c0cc82724515f9&v=1&app=1 However, he brushed off those who snubbed applications noting moving forward the government will concentrate on placing those who apply for university places while isolating those who do not.
“We should focus on the placement of those who apply, without assuming that every student who qualifies for university wants to join,” Magoha said.
However, he has raised an alarm over the high rate of candidates who choose not to further their education after completing secondary school.
“Sadly, some of our children after completing Form Four choose that to be the end of their education,” Magoha noted.
He further took a swipe at secondary school heads for failing to ensure students enrol for university places before sitting exams.
Out of 10,437 secondary schools registered to sit KCSE exams in 2020, KUCCPS indicates that only 2,506 applied for university courses before taking the test.
The government requires all registered candidates to indicate their university and college preferences and courses while in Form Four.
“This signals a lost opportunity for career guidance as a majority of students wait for the KCSE results before they can think of career choice,” Magoha said.
He further called on the Teachers Service Commission to take action on headteachers who submit college applications for their candidates moving forward.
In the 2020 placement, technical colleges are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of the enrollment exercise.
KUCCPS data shows 137,072 students will join the technical colleges under government sponsorship.
On Tuesday, Magoha said the students will benefit from study loans enabled by an allocation of Sh3 billion from the exchequer.