University courses: KCSE stars to know their fate

The 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination candidates will know the proposed changes in higher and tertiary learning that might affect their placement to post-secondary training anytime from this week.

Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps) Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Wahome, told Higher Education recently that the placement of students would be guided by the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).

The PWPER, which is chaired by Prof Raphael Munavu, was last week putting the final touches on the second interim report that will be presented to the Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu this week and later to President William Ruto.

The team was working from the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (Cemastea) and its report will focus mainly on university and tertiary education as well as teacher education.

Among other things, Prof Munavu’s team is expected “to review and recommend a governance and financing framework for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) training and development, university education, research and training”.

Amalgamating agencies

When contacted by Higher Education, Prof Munavu did not give an exact date for the release of the report.
“Once it is ready, we will release it after giving the President a copy since this is a sensitive topic,” he said.
The panel delivered its first interim report in December, which mainly focused on basic education. 
The second interim report was due at the end of last month and the final one is expected at the end of March. 

When Mr Machogu released the KCSE examination results in January, he directed Kuccps to move with speed and establish the number of places available in universities, colleges and TVET institutions to enable the immediate commencement of the placement of learners.

“The placement service should also engage higher education regulatory agencies – the Commission for University Education (CUE) and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) – to ensure learning institutions are prepared to enrol students,” the Cabinet Secretary said. 

“This is in line with the Ministry of Education’s goal of providing fair and balanced access to quality and relevant higher education and training and the government’s policy of 100 per cent transition.”

Dr Wahome revealed that although the placement service has received details of the capacities of the institutions of higher learning, the placement of students would have to wait until President Ruto receives the PWPER report and gives direction on several matters that it is bound to address.

According to the terms of reference, the PWPER is mandated to seek views from the public and give recommendations on a number of issues touching on higher education.

The team is also expected to “review and recommend legislation to facilitate the amalgamation of the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), TVET and University Funding boards with a view of harmonising and merging the tertiary education funding entities.

There is a likelihood that not all the 173,345 students who qualified for university admission will be sponsored by the government as has been the trend from 2017. 

The qualifiers have since then more than doubled though funding has remained relatively the same.
The number of candidates who qualified for university admission was a 19.03 per cent of the total candidature. 

It was a slight increase compared to the 145,776 (17.55 per cent) in the 2021 KCSE examination.
This means that those who qualify but will not get government sponsorship will have to finance their university education, giving a much-needed boost to private universities and possibly reviving the Module II programmes in the cash-strapped public institutions.

A total of 876,648 students sat the 2022 KCSE examination, but a majority are expected to join TVET institutions.

“Every candidate who sat the KCSE examination has ready avenues to progress to other levels of education as we seek to leave no learner behind in career development,” Mr Machogu added during the release of the results. 

“These candidates have a destiny and the government is determined to clear the path for them to reach that destiny.”

The low percentage of high-quality grades has sparked a debate over “mass wastage” in the Kenyan education system.

In an NTV interview last week, the University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor Stephen Kiama criticised the KCSE examination processes and outcomes.

“You cannot have a situation in which almost everybody fails an examination. Something needs to be fixed because the system is skewed a bit towards STEM,” Prof Kiama said. 

“Candidates are heavily tested on STEM yet not everybody is STEM-oriented. There must be another way of correcting that after they sit the examination and then do the correct (normal) curve for the population.”

The academies

The UoN vice-chancellor said universities should be allowed to conduct entry exams for students to gauge their aptitude to undertake the studies. 

He criticised the CUE and professional associations for abolishing bridging courses that used to give students a lifeline to studying at university if they did not attain the requisite grades in some subjects in Form Four national tests.

Kuccps is responsible for the placement of students in public universities and TVET institutions. 
In the past, the service has also been placing some students in private universities but whose programmes were sponsored by the government.

President Ruto has already hinted that the government will not sponsor every student who qualifies for university admission.

Education stakeholders are keen to know the method to be deployed by authorities in identifying students to be funded by the government. 

“There are children in academies (private schools) who pay Sh200,000 a term but when they go to university, we tell them we can pay for them. Why?” President Ruto asked during an interview with journalists at State House on January 4.  

“If a parent is able to pay for their child in primary and secondary school, why don’t we allow them to pay for their child in university or college so that we support the children of the people who cannot afford it.” 

[email protected]