Why thousands of top KCSE performers are missing out on dream courses

KUCCPS CEO Mercy Wahome addresses the media in Naivasha on the new funding Model, May 19, 2023. [File, Standard]

Thousands of students who qualified for university admission are missing out on their preferred degree courses due to poor performance in key cluster subjects, despite attaining the minimum C+ entry grade.

A presentation by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) reveals that while 270,508 candidates qualified for university admission after the 2025 KCSE examination, weak performance in Mathematics and the sciences has significantly reduced many students’ chances of securing competitive courses such as Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, Nursing, Architecture and Computer Science.

KUCCPS chief executive Mercy Wahome on Wednesday said weak national performance in the two sciences of Biology and Chemistry automatically shrinks the pool of students eligible to compete for these highly sought-after courses.

The subject analysis presented by KUCCPS reveals that compulsory and high-enrolment subjects largely determine university placement.

Only 22 per cent of candidates sitting English attained C+ and above, making it one of the weakest-performing compulsory subjects. Kiswahili fared slightly better at 34 per cent.

The biggest hurdle, however, remains Mathematics.

Only 19 per cent of candidates sitting Mathematics Option A attained C+ and above despite the subject being a core requirement for Engineering, Computer Science, Actuarial Science, Economics, Statistics, Architecture and many business-related degree programmes.

Students aspiring to these careers can therefore qualify for university but still fail to accumulate enough cluster points to compete with top applicants.

Similarly, only 29 per cent of Biology candidates attained C+ and above, while Physics recorded just 26 per cent.

While Biology forms the backbone of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine and other health sciences, the performance means most of the candidates who attained C+ and above are locked out of such programmes.

Similarly, Physics is equally critical for Engineering and technology programmes.

The numbers show a better Geography recorded 43 per cent of candidates attaining C+ and above, while Business Studies posted 39 per cent.

History and Government stood at 36 per cent, Agriculture 31 per cent, Christian Religious Education 27 per cent, and Islamic Religious Education 44 per cent.

However, the percentage distribution could largely be affected by the large number of students pursuing the subjects.

Geography alone contributed more than 153,000 candidates attaining C+ and above.

Business Studies added another 143,054 university qualifiers, while Agriculture produced 131,672.

Biology contributed 256,805 candidates who attained C+ and above despite its relatively low success rate, reflecting its popularity among learners.

History and Government produced 242,527 university qualifiers, while Christian Religious Education contributed 206,888.

English accounted for 219,648 candidates attaining C+ and above, while Kiswahili produced the largest pool among the compulsory languages, with 336,793 candidates.

On the other hand, the top-performing subjects, with the highest number of students with C+(Plus) and above, include Aviation, where an impressive 96 per cent of candidates who took the subject attained C+ and above.

Electricity followed at 90 per cent, Woodwork at 89 per cent, Building Construction at 85 per cent, and Power Mechanics at 84 per cent.

Kenyan Sign Language also emerged as one of the strongest-performing subjects nationally, with 81 per cent of candidates attaining the university entry grade.

These subjects, however, are offered in relatively few schools and attract a small number of candidates.

While they post exceptional pass rates, they contribute only a tiny fraction of students to the national university pool.

Among language subjects, German recorded a 75 per cent C+ and above rate, Arabic followed at 71 per cent, while French posted 66 per cent.

Home Science also emerged as one of the country’s strongest mainstream electives, with 69 per cent of candidates attaining university entry grades.

Music recorded 61 per cent, Art and Design 56 per cent, while Computer Studies posted 55 per cent.