After the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) delayed placing 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates at universities, the government assuaged concerns that they would remain at home for several months longer.
On Tuesday, April 25, the Parliamentary Public Investments Committee (PIC) decided that all 170,000 students who scored C+ or higher in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education would receive placement letters. It went on to say that all of the students would attend public schools around the country.
The announcement came after the committee met with Agnes Wahome, the director of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
“The more than 170,000 students who are awaiting university placement will be enrolled in public universities that have a capacity of over 190,000 slots,” the Committee directed.
KUCCPS assured the parliamentary committee that public universities had the capacity to accommodate 194,000 students under a government-sponsored program.
“As the PIC Committee charged with safeguarding public investments in education and Governance, we are pleased that we have stopped the irregular allocation of public funds to private universities,” the Committee stated, adding that public institutions had the capacity to accommodate all students.
The committee added that placing students in public, rather than private universities would help government-funded institutions crippled with debt to survive.
“The move will further protect Kenyans from the placements and exorbitant fees charged by private universities,” the Committee stated.
On Thursday, March 9, PIC revealed that private institutions were collecting government funds without transparency or accountability.
The government provided Ksh8.7 billion in capital in 2017, but no audit was conducted to assess how the funds were spent.
While the government will no longer fund students to attend private colleges, it will continue to provide capitation to those who were previously placed.
KUCCPS had yet to open the application portal so that 2022 KCSE students could choose their preferred universities.
