Why over 1,000 grade A students missed medicine placement; KUCCPS
Why over 1,000 grade A students missed medicine placement; KUCCPS
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) has moved to explain why most students who scored grade A (plain) in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) were not placed to pursue medicine courses and other highly demanding courses despite applying.
Speaking during the second webinar organised by the placement agency on Wednesday, May 20, KUCCPS CEO Agnes Wahome revealed that the main reason why all the students who scored grade A were not placed in their first-choice courses was due to the limited space available.
According to Wahome, the demand for medicine far exceeds available training slots, both in public and private universities, making selection highly competitive even for the highest-achieving students.
She further revealed that there are fewer than 1,000 Medicine slots available nationwide when both public and private institutions are combined.
This is far below the number of students who qualify for medicine courses.
According to 2025 KCSE data, over 2000 students scored straight A plain, while others scored A- (minus) and B+ (plus) and still qualify for a course in Medicine.
“We have fewer than 1,000 places if we combine private and public universities. If we look at the students who got an A, we have about 2,000 students. But the people who apply because they meet the minimum, and because of the competition, not everyone will be placed in the medicine course,” Wahome stated.
She added that the situation means not all students with top grades can be accommodated in Medicine programmes, stressing that even plain candidates may miss out due to the limited capacity.
“It means even if all the students applied, we have to leave out some students with an A. In this case, we have 2,000 applying, we have another A- applying, and then we have B+; if a straight A cannot be got, that does not mean you do not qualify,” she explained.
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To qualify for a medicine course in Kenya, students must have at least grade B (plain) in biology, chemistry, mathematics and either English or Kiswahili. This makes thousands of students able to apply for the course, but they cannot be placed due to limited slots.
For those who missed, Wahome encouraged them to consider other marketable programmes that are also in high global demand.
“Medicine is not the end. There are many other programs that can lead to successful careers,” she added.
The clarification comes after many students lamented online after realising that highly competitive courses had been missing in the portal during the current revision window, prompting the agency to issue an explanation.
Among the courses unavailable are Nursing, Pharmacy, and Engineering courses that traditionally attract the highest number of applicants.
However, after revision, KUCCPS stated that it had started to quietly introduce the highly contested courses, urging students who might still be interested to apply before the revision timeline lapses on May 22.
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