The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) Chief Executive Officer, Agnes Wahome on Tuesday explained how the agency determined the placement of students to various tertiary Institutions.
Wahome who spoke during a Stakeholders Forum during the official release of the 2024 placement results, outlined three main factors that were considered.
According to the CEO, the placement process was guided by the government's Placement Policy and Processing Procedure.
In particular, the placement service considered the applicant's college or university choices and the entrant's merit or qualifications.
While detailing the selection criteria, the CEO noted that KUCCPS was keen on the specific institutions the students selected and whether they qualified to be there.
Different courses for both universities and colleges were categorised under clusters which ranged from 1 to 23.
The clusters are calculated based on subject combinations. A subject combination is a group of at least four subjects that are required for a specific course.
To make the process easier for an applicant, the portal automatically calculated a student's cluster points and displayed them after every cluster group.
Another consideration that was used by KUCCPS in placing students was the approved capacities of the university or college the applicant applied for.
For instance, if a university was approved to hold a capacity of 1,000 students, the placement service strictly adhered to the set threshold.
“Affirmative action is applied for gender, persons with disabilities, and marginalised regions,” Wahome noted.
"Over the years, the Board has developed robust policies and internal control systems to ensure that the placement process is transparent, efficient, fair, and equitable," she added.
