CS: C+ remains entry point for university admission

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has termed as erroneous reports suggesting the government has revised the cut-off point for university admission.

Urging the public to disregard the information, Education CS insisted that the minimum entry grade remains C+ and that all the 246, 391 students who attained the grade in the 2024 KCSE results are eligible for admission.

“The government has not changed the policy of the cut-off point for admission to the university. This cut-off point still remains C+ plus and above,” he said in a statement Thursday.

The mean grade of C+ has been the standard cut-off point for joining public universities for years now.

This is after the Ministry of Education dropped it from the previous mean grade of B- of 58 points for females and B of 60 points for males.

The Education CS also stated that the portal used by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) for the application process for the September intake, is set to be opened in March.

“Already, the KUCCPS portal has been open since January 24 for the placement of applicants to the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Teacher Training Colleges and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions for the March and May 2025 intakes,” he said.

At the same time, the Cabinet Secretary clarified the cost the government is set to incur to fund the university education for the 2024 cohort.

Ogamba stated that the ministry projects that if all these students join the university, it will cost the government Sh25.8 billion every year to fund their education contrary to reports that it will cost Sh100 billion.

“The projection of Sh100 billion will be the total over a four-year period,” CS Ogamba said.

During the 2024 KCSE examinations, a total of 962,512 candidates sat for the exams as compared to the 899,453 in 2023. 480,310 were male while 482,202 were female.

Ogamba said all the candidates had been cleared to join various higher learning institutions to pursue careers of their choice.