5,000 asked to choose degree courses afresh

More than 5,000 students who met the cut-off point for entry into public universities to pursue full-time studies have failed to fit into any of their selected courses.

The Joint Admissions Board, which selects the students, said they did not meet the minimum cluster points required by any of their four degree choices.

The board has now given the candidates a week to apply afresh for courses to which they are qualified to study.

The board has released, through its website, a list of the degree courses they can apply for.

“After considering their degree choices given during the first revision, the candidates did not qualify for any of their degree choices,” board secretary Ben Waweru said of the 5,000 candidates.

Mr Waweru asked the candidates to select their alternatives starting on Thursday.
“These candidates will be given a second and final chance to revise their degree choices,” he said. Unlike in the past, the candidates would be required to make their selection online as directed through the board’s website.

The candidates obtained a mean grade of B plain of 63 points and above in their fourth form exam.

Some 41,879 students met the entry cut-off point following the results of last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.

The number is the highest to be admitted in a single year in the history of university intakes in Kenya. The figure rose due to the establishment of 10 new university colleges.

Currently, there are 31 universities, 24 of them university colleges.

Last year, 34,000 were admitted.

During a meeting at the University of Nairobi in April, the board resolved to admit women at two points less than their male counterparts.

This means women will be admitted with a minimum mean grade of B plain of 61 points.

Candidates with disabilities will be admitted with as many as five points less.