The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) has officially released the 2026 placement results, paving the way for thousands of students who sat the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination to begin their higher education journey.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the results on Wednesday, July 8, during an event at the Edge Convention Centre in South C, Nairobi, bringing to an end months of anxious waiting for students seeking admission to universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, and teacher training colleges.
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Ogamba said a total of 293,869 students have been successfully placed in universities and tertiary institutions under the 2026 placement cycle.
“I am pleased to announce that the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service has completed the 2026/2027 Placement Cycle of students to universities and colleges. Since 2014 when we began centralized placement under the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service, there has been significant growth and advancement in the placement sphere,” Ogamba said.
“To illustrate the growth, during its first-ever placement in June 2014, KUCCPS placed only 72,338 students to universities and colleges, compared to 293,869 students who are being placed today.”
Application portal
KUCCPS opened its application portal on April 17, 2026, allowing candidates who sat the 2025 KCSE examination to apply for degree, diploma, certificate and artisan courses in universities and TVET institutions.
The initial application window closed on May 6, before the placement agency reopened the portal for the first revision of choices between May 16 and May 22, enabling applicants to revise their programmes based on available vacancies and changing cut-off trends.
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The phased process was intended to maximise placement opportunities and ensure that available spaces across institutions were fully utilised.
The results of 993,226 candidates were released, comprising 492,012 male candidates and 501,214 female candidates, representing 49.54% and 50.46% of the total candidature, respectively in the 2025 cohort.
According to the Ministry of Education, a key highlight of the 2025 KCSE results was the increase in the number of candidates who attained grades that qualify them for direct university entry, a trend the CS said shows gradual improvement compared to 2024.
“The number of candidates with direct university entry qualification of mean grade C+ and above was 270,715 (27.18%), an improvement from 246,391 (25.53%) in the 2024 KCSE,” Ogamba stated.
