More students fight for places in public universities

A total of 119,658 candidates attained a minimum grade of C+ in school-leaving exams last year, making them eligible for admission to Kenya’s public universities, up 20% on the year before. But more than 87,000 may miss out on slots in the seven public universities as there are only 32,000 vacancies, writes Benjamin Muindi for Daily Nation.

The Joint Admissions Board, which selects students to join public universities, increased the slots last year after the creation of constituent colleges. The cut-off point was set at grade B and selection of those who were admitted was also affected by the requirements of the courses they had chosen. Those who had better cluster grades were given priority to take the courses they chose.

The 87,000 students will, therefore, have to seek admission through fee-charging parallel degree programmes or opt to join private universities. There are 13 private universities in Kenya that have traditionally absorbed an estimated 10,000 students annually.
Full report on the Daily Nation site