KUCCPS Delays Opening Portal worries Parents, Officials and students
KUCCPS Delays Opening Portal worries Parents, Officials and students. Expressing worry over the admission to universities and colleges of more than 880,000 pupils who took the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam last year.
Some claim that ambiguity regarding the amount of funds available to sponsor students at public institutions may have caused a delay in the selecting process.
Officials are debating whether to increase university cutoff points or tuition prices.
It is also becoming increasingly obvious that administrators at universities and colleges are worried about how the ongoing delay in course revision may affect their class schedules.
Parents are also concerned about fraudulent placement messages and banners warning that the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) site has opened so that their kids can study for tests.
Vice chancellors and college presidents who addressed the media cautioned that a KUCCPS portal delay may be costly.
A VC stated, “We do not want to discuss it at this time because we have a meeting in Mombasa where we will also want to learn more about this, but obviously this delay is not good.”
The inaugural biennial Kenya Universities Financing Conference, with the theme Universities for Sustainable Future, was opened by Ezekiel Machogu, Cabinet Secretary for Education. Leading figures from the ministry and business are present during the meeting.
To avoid keeping kids waiting in suspense as they pursue their dream careers, the VC remarked, “We are hopeful that during this conference some choices will be made.”
Mercy Wahome, chief executive officer of KUCCPS, stated yesterday that it will take around 2.5 months to complete this procedure and allow students to make decisions.
Since most institutions begin classes in August, Dr. Wahome explained that students need a month to transfer and for parents to prepare for their children’s admittance.
This indicates that in order to meet the rigid deadlines for placement and admissions, the KUCCPS portal should have been launched by mid-February.
Speaking at the announcement of the KCSE exam results from the previous year, Machogu instructed KUCCPS to launch the placement procedure right away.
To make sure that all educational institutions are ready to accept new students, he added, “The Placement Service should also engage with higher education regulatory bodies, such as the Commission for University Education (CUE) and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA)”.
According to Dr. Wahome, KUCCPS has already received candidate results from the Kenya National Examinations Council, and regulators have verified the universities’ and colleges’ capacities.
“KUCCPS completed its task. We are awaiting approval before allowing pupils access to the platform, she said.
Last week, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms recommended raising university tuition from Sh16,000; but, according to insiders, the President was sluggish to adopt the proposal.
Since 1989, the tuition for students who are subsidized by the government (Sh16,000.00) has not increased. The research recommends raising it to a minimum of Sh48,000 to Sh52,000.
According to a source at the Ministry of Education, finding a balance in the placement and admissions process that is fair to all students remains a challenge.
Is it possible for all 173,345 pupils who received grades of C+ or higher to be admitted to universities?
According to calculations, the government would need roughly Sh30 billion for university tuition alone if all qualifying applicants were admitted.
Each university student typically receives Sh140,000 from the government each academic year to cover tuition. For all 173,345 pupils, this equates to Sh24.3 billion annually.
Charles Ringera, the chief executive of the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), informed Legislators last week that the organization’s Sh5.7 billion financing shortfall would have an impact on more than 140,000 students.
The organization offers long-term loans, ranging from Sh40,000 to Sh60,000 year, for maintenance and the purchase of educational supplies for students.
This indicates that the Sh5.7 billion is based on the assumption that each university student will receive around Sh40,500 annually.
In order to support the 672,841 students who received grades C and D-, additional billions would be required if the 100% transfer policy were to be implemented at this level.
Each TVET student receives Sh30,000 in capitation funding annually from the government. Helb needs roughly Sh40,000 annually to pay each TVET student, plus any maintenance money supplied to pupils. The typical TVET tuition is Sh56,000.
Helb cannot provide any information on financing forecasts, according to Ringera’s statement from yesterday, who added that “things will be clearer after the task force turns in its final report.”