Nairobi takes largest share of top KCSE students in contest for varsity places

The University of Nairobi is the most popular for students keen to study medicine and pharmacy.

Competition for the medicine and surgery course is highest among all the five public universities.  

According to the latest figures from Joint Admissions Board (JAB), more students selected medicine at the University of Nairobi compared to the other public universities.

The country’s oldest university will this year admit 127 students for the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery course, three times the number other institutions will take and yet its cut-off is the highest.

Only those who scored between 47.6 and 45.57 cluster points out of the possible 48 points were admitted to Nairobi. Candidates from poor areas have, however, been admitted with lower points.

Kenyatta University, which has admitted 42 students, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (33), Egerton (37), Maseno (42) and Moi (44) also offer medicine.

The University of Nairobi will this year take 49 students who scored between 46.36 and 44.85 points to study pharmacy.

This is the highest mark limit compared to pharmacy schools at Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, which have admitted students with lower cluster points in the 2013/14 academic year.

Institution capacity

At Kenyatta, for instance, 25 students have been admitted with a cluster of between 45.76 and 44.68 points.

JKUAT has taken in 21 students for the pharmacy course, falling between 45.18 and 44.58 points.

Usually, the number of students selecting a course determines its cut-off points. This means that although 5,000 students can select medicine at the University of Nairobi, the institution can only take the best 127.

Overall, Moi University has the highest number of students this year at 5,792, followed by Nairobi with 5,496.

Kenyatta University follows with an intake of 5,491 students, Egerton with 3,500, Maseno (3,096) and JKUAT (2,151).

University colleges and recently upgraded institutions will take the rest.

JAB calculates a student’s weighted cluster points by using the performance index of the candidate and the grade attained.

Of the six schools of medicine, JKUAT has admitted the least number of students at 33, yet its highest cluster points for admission was at 43.80.

At JKUAT, a student has been admitted with 40.95 points, one point lower than Nairobi’s cut-off for candidates from disadvantaged areas.

JAB, which is due to be replaced by a new agency — Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service — admitted more than 50,000 students who sat last year’s final exam in Form four.

This is 11,000 more than last year’s intake.

Although admission is based on each university’s capacity, students are entitled to select the institution of their choice as long as it offers the course they qualify to study.

But the admission list shows a similar pattern for other courses.

For instance, although there are four law schools in the country, the University of Nairobi has taken the lion’s share of students.

Nairobi has selected 206 students to join its law school, five times the average selected to join other institutions yet it has the highest cluster points limit at between 46.27 and 42.7. That students jostle for Nairobi with its high cut-off mark is interesting given that law schools at Kenyatta, Moi and Kisii universities demand lower clusters.

For instance, Moi University has admitted 57 students who scored between 44.5 and 42.70, Kenyatta has taken in 69 with its highest scorer at 44.88 while Kisii picked just 28 who scored between 42.5 and 40.56.

While Nairobi has the oldest Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science in the country, it has picked the lowest number of students (56) compared to JKUAT (60) and Karatina University (75).

However, it is still the toughest to get admitted to, with a cluster of between 46.39 and 44.85. Karatina has the lowest cluster and with one of the candidates scoring 36.46 points among its 75 students. (READ: New authority set up to admit varsity students)