Kenya’s university admission system is set for a major shift as KUCCPS moves to align placement with the Competency-Based Education curriculum, replacing the long-standing reliance on KCSE grades with pathway-based selection starting 2029.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service is designing a new entry model that will guide how the first cohort of Competency-Based Education learners joins universities and colleges after completing senior school.
The new system will apply to learners currently in Grade 10, who are expected to complete senior school in 2028 and transition to higher learning institutions in 2029.
Unlike the 8-4-4 system, where university placement is mainly determined by KCSE results, the new approach will focus on specialised pathways chosen by students during senior school.
Under the Competency-Based Education structure, learners are placed into three main pathways: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports.
More than 1.1 million learners joined senior school earlier this year under the new system and are currently pursuing studies aligned to their selected pathways.
KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Agnes Wahome said discussions are ongoing with universities, professional bodies and education stakeholders to agree on a placement model that matches the new curriculum.
“We are going to have a new criteria. We will wait to know whether we are going to have grades A to E or Exceeding Expectation being the best grade and the last being Below Expectation,” said Dr Wahome during an interview with Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura.
Under the current KCSE grading system, learners are ranked from A to E, with A being the highest grade. However, CBE uses competency descriptors such as Exceeding Expectation (EE), Meeting Expectation (ME), Approaching Expectation (AE) and Below Expectation (BE).
Dr Wahome said one of the key challenges will be setting clear cut-off points under the new grading structure.
“Those who will have EE,we will have to know the range. Is it those with 100 per cent up to a certain point? We are working with universities and professional bodies because one of our mandates is to come up with criteria for placement,” she explained.
She also noted that professional bodies will help define subject requirements for specific careers.
“For example, engineering requires Physics. We must determine what minimum grade a learner should attain in Physics to qualify for engineering courses,” she said.
Wahome dismissed concerns over university capacity, saying existing spaces are sufficient for incoming students.
“For the 2025 class expected to join universities in September 2026, we already have 322,000 university capacities against about 270,000 students who scored C+ and above in KCSE, including both Kenyan and non-Kenyan students,” she said.
She added that the pathway system will reduce pressure on university placement by directing learners into specialised fields rather than broad competition across subjects.
Wahome noted that not all learners will pursue science-heavy subjects under the STEM pathway, which will help balance demand across courses.
“Those taking sports, for example, are not many because only a few schools can offer the pathway effectively. This means university placement under CBE will become more targeted and easier,” she said.
The new framework is expected to guide university admissions for the first CBE cohort in 2029 as consultations continue on grading and course requirements.