From this year, Mathematics will cease to be a mandatory requirement for university admission for students planning to pursue a teaching degree.

From the outcomes of yesterday’s meeting, teachers not planning to teach maths upon graduation will not be locked out of education training courses for failing maths in high school.

Additionally, teachers who will teach nursery schools will also not be required to have passed mathematics to pursue diploma and degree teaching courses.

For agriculture-based courses, where students are currently required to have C+ in Biology and Chemistry, they will now be required to have a C (plain) in both subjects. Agriculture subject, with a C+ score, has also been introduced as an alternative to the C plain in Biology.

Read also:

Acquiring Education Degree Gets Easier As KUCCPS Reviews Minimum entry requirements for degree courses

Games Teachers To Submit Quarterly Progress reports on the implementation of P.E and Sport policy

A List of Secondary Schools Burnt Down This Term Per County 

KUCCPS To Review Minimum entry requirements to universities, colleges

KUCCPS Courses-Universities, Course Information, Clusters and Minimum qualifications Per course

Teacher Trainees to wait For State Funding Before KUCCPS Placement To TTCs

Latest: September 2021 TSC Internship Interview Merit Lists Per County

These reviews were done during during a stakeholders’ validation forum of placement criteria for degree programmes convened by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).

The meeting that brought together vice-chancellors, professional bodies and Ministry of Education officials agreed that only students who need mathematics as a core theme should have the subject as a mandatory requirement.

This implies that those training to teach subjects in secondary schools, which are not related to mathematics, will not be required to have scored a certain grade in the subject to gain admission.

The decision was arrived at after it emerged that many students wishing to pursue a bachelor of education (arts) have been locked out by the D+ mandatory requirement in mathematics.

The Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) insists that those wishing to pursue a diploma in teaching must have a minimum grade C (plain) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, at least a C+ in the two subjects specialization and at least C (plain) in English, C (plain) in mathematics for science-based courses and a D+ (plus) in mathematics in non-science based courses.

And for the bachelor of education (arts), TSC says students must score a minimum mean grade of C+ or its equivalent and C+ in two subjects of specialization.

KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Mercy Wahome yesterday confirmed that  the requirement was introduced in 2017, following a similar stakeholders’ meeting, a move that has kept off many students from pursuing education courses.

“We did that for uniformity and to harmonise the qualification requirements. But the same stakeholders have now said we stick to TSC regulations, which do not make any reference to mathematics,” said Wahome.

The stakeholders’ meeting advised that KUCCPS uses guidelines presented by the teachers’ employer on academic and professional requirements.

Vice-chancellors, who spoke yesterday, said they do not wish to train teachers who would not be employed by TSC, and advised that admission requirements be based on the employer’s regulations.

Even though the development is a major reprieve for students seeking to pursue bachelor degree courses in teaching, the bar will remain high for those undertaking diploma courses.

Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), has reviewed Minimum entry requirements for degree courses and validation criteria for placement of students to universities. This decision is expected to increase the number of students qualified to join universities, though there is no significant expansion of infrastructural capacity of universities and colleges, and increase in government funding expected.

“It is my wish also that among other things, KUCCPS will consider cut-off points for joining universities to be based on available accommodation space and government capitation,” said University Education PS Simon Nabukwesi during the KUCCPS Stakeholders Forum for Validation of Placement Criteria for Degree courses.

According to Nabukwesi, the review was necessitated by introduction of new courses and dynamics in the job market.

Read also:

Games Teachers To Submit Quarterly Progress reports on the implementation of P.E and Sport policy

A List of Secondary Schools Burnt Down This Term Per County 

KUCCPS To Review Minimum entry requirements to universities, colleges

KUCCPS Courses-Universities, Course Information, Clusters and Minimum qualifications Per course

Teacher Trainees to wait For State Funding Before KUCCPS Placement To TTCs

Latest: September 2021 TSC Internship Interview Merit Lists Per County

He said the education sector has experienced reforms and developments since the last review of degree placement criteria in 2017.

“The implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) has now taken off and it is time to align higher education and prepare it for CBC graduates,” said Nabukwesi.

The PS revealed that students in secondary schools will have to undergo a sensitisation programme for on selection of university courses based on their talents and competences.

“You identify talents in students and lead them to choose the courses that suit them best for right training. Many schools do not have the booklets and do not bother to look for them to guide the students,” he added.

KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Mercy Wahome said the criteria will recognise areas such as agriculture and education where many students are disadvantaged by the minimum subject requirements to enroll in universities.

“The review augers well with the direction we are taking with the competency-based curriculum (CBC) because we are focusing on competences and talents of students in selection of courses,” said Wahome.

The review of selection criteria is also expected to address the clashes between professional bodies and the Commission for University Education (CUE) on minimum subject requirements to join universities.

KUCCPS is set to review the Minimum entry requirements to universities and colleges. This follows the realization that majority of students are locked out of their dream careers for failing to meet certain subject grades.

According to Experts, some subjects required for certain courses are highly weighted, yet they are not relevant in training, while in other cases, some subjects relevant to the training are omitted or less emphasized.

Because of this, there have arisen several complaints since students have been missing their dream courses. Subject clusters which dictate minimum mandatory requirements for various programmes were last reviewed three years ago.

Read also:

KUCCPS Courses-Universities, Course Information, Clusters and Minimum qualifications Per course

Teacher Trainees to wait For State Funding Before KUCCPS Placement To TTCs

Latest: September 2021 TSC Internship Interview Merit Lists Per County

List of TTCs Accredited To Offer Diploma in Primary Teacher Education

The New Diploma In Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) Course-Requirements, Intake and application

Cut off Requirements For Diploma in Teacher Education and ECDE Might be lowered due to fewer applicants

List of TSC Appointed Headteachers, principals, Deputies and senior teachers Per County

KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Mercy Wahome said the review was necessary since the last one was done in 2017.Universities vice-chancellors, academic registrars and representatives of the professional bodies are expected to meet today at Kenyatta University to discuss proposals on entry requirements to the various courses.

A similar stakeholder meeting will be held for middle-level colleges next week, which will discuss admission criteria for reviewing of diplomas and certificates.

Wahome said that KUCCPS had been using the degree cluster document, as the criteria for placement of government-sponsored students to universities.

“Over the past placement cycles, KUCCPS received concerns and suggestions from training institutions and other stakeholders on the need to review the criteria,” she said.

Responding to the concerns, Wahome revealed that an Independent Criteria Review Committee (ICRC) was established to receive, collate and analyse the proposed changes for degree and TVET programmes.

More posts:

Top 10 Best Courses for C plain and Below Students

(Latest) Top 10 Most Marketable And Best Paying Courses In Kenya.

Top 10 Best Courses For Self-Employment In 2021

Top 10 Most marketable KMTC Diploma Courses

Top 10 Best KMTC Short Courses

Top 10 subject Combinations With the Highest TSC Employability Rates in 2021

“The committee looked into each cluster for the degree programmes and the respective minimum subject grade requirements and taking into account the requirements provided by professional or regulatory bodies and proposals from the training institutions,” reads the letter addressed to VCs and Academic Registrars.

Speaking during a media engagement workshop last week, Wahome said regulatory bodies, training institutions and in some cases employers have raised questions over the minimum entry requirements used for some courses.

“It has been a difficult time because regulatory bodies want this, the training institutions also say this requirement ought to be adjusted this way and this puts KUCCPS at a difficult spot,” Wahome said.

Teachers and students pursuing agriculture-based courses, who are currently required to have C+ in Biology and Chemistry, may be the greatest beneficiaries if the placement criteria are revised.

In the new proposals, however, this requirement has been reduced to a C plain for both subjects. Agriculture (C+) has also been introduced as an alternative to the C plain in Biology.