Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha on Saturday said 16,000 students who sat the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and qualified to join the higher learning institutions have been locked out the process.
The CS said the students had qualified but failed to apply for placement in various higher learning institutions within the allocated time.
He said, however, that some 250,052 students have been placed to join various institutions.
Magoha was speaking during the release of the 2021 KCSE Universities and Colleges Student Placement results at Eastleigh High School in Nairobi County.
He said that 90 per cent of candidates who scored a mean grade of C+ and above and applied to join universities or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges were successfully placed.
“85 per cent of those who applied got into degree programmes while five per cent will take up courses in TVET institutions,” Magoha said.
He further said 144,466 students qualified for various degree programmes.
Magoha said 85.8 per cent of those that were placed in universities, 67,237 are female and 56,726 are male.
Other 5,278 candidates who also qualified for degree programmes have been placed in TVET colleges of their choice.
“The nonsense of degrees in this country is what is taking us in the wrong direction,” Magoha said.
He said reports show that more female candidates (68,705) have joined TVETs compared to male candidates (54,000).
"Candidates can check their respective placements on the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) portal," Magoha said.
The CS was accompanied by CEO of Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) Agnes Wahome and Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) boss Charles Ringera.
