CUE to nullify degrees of people who scored less than C+

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has warned holders of university degrees who do not meet the basic criteria for admission into a degree programme that their qualifications are invalid.

Commission for University Education Chief Executive officer, Prof Some clarified that the criteria for admission into a degree programme is either a C+ score in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or a three-year diploma course offered by Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) in polytechnics and technical training colleges.

Prof Some added that it is only possible to do a bridging course in particular subjects after obtaining the minimum grade of admission into university.

“If one wants to do a degree programme that requires grade C+ or above, for example in Mathematics and Physics, one can bridge on those subjects to be admitted into the programme provided he/she has already obtained an overall grade of C+,” said Prof Some.

In addressing the issue of admitting government sponsored students into universities this year, Prof Some said that the government has adopted a plan of paying the differentiated unit cost for training in a particular course as opposed to paying universities to train students.

He said the plan would enable private universities to compete at par with the public ones for the brightest minds, as students would have the choice of the university to attend.

“The government will be financing the students, so if a student has qualified to do medicine he/she will have a letter from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) saying that the government has sponsored him/her to a maximum of Ksh550, 000, for example, and the student can choose the university to attend,” said the CUE boss.

Prof Some disclosed that the government agreed with private universities on the fees structure for government sponsored students but added that students who cannot pay the fees in private institutions can go back to the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPBS) to request for placement in a different university.