Students who took technical subjects in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination emerged among the country’s top performers, prompting the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to call on universities to review admission requirements in line with the country’s evolving education system.
Data released by KUCCPS during the announcement of the 2026 placement results shows that technical subjects recorded the highest proportion of candidates attaining the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above.
Aviation Technology topped the list, with 95 per cent of candidates attaining C+ and above, followed by Drawing and Design (93 per cent), Electricity (90 per cent), Woodwork (89 per cent), Building Construction (85 per cent) and Power Mechanics (84 per cent).
Other specialised subjects also posted strong results, including Kenyan Sign Language (81 per cent), Metalwork (77 per cent), German (75 per cent), Arabic (71 per cent) and Home Science (69 per cent).
KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Agnes Wahome said the results reflect the direction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which places greater emphasis on technical and practical skills.
However, she questioned whether universities have adapted their degree programmes to recognise these subjects as part of admission cluster requirements.
“The performance looks good and aligns very well with the new curriculum, where we want to see more learners pursuing technical courses. But the question is whether our universities have enough programmes that recognise these subjects, including education courses,” Wahome said.
She said aligning university admission criteria with the changing curriculum will be critical in ensuring students who excel in technical fields are not disadvantaged when applying for degree programmes.
Even as technical subjects recorded impressive results, KUCCPS expressed concern over the continued poor performance in science subjects. Only 13 per cent of candidates who sat Chemistry attained grade C+ and above, while Mathematics and General Science each recorded 19 per cent. Biology also posted low performance, reducing the pool of students eligible for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses.
According to Wahome, the shortage of qualified science students means many university places in STEM programmes could remain vacant despite institutions having sufficient capacity.
KUCCPS said it will continue working with universities, education stakeholders and policymakers to strengthen career guidance, review placement processes and ensure university programmes better reflect the skills and learning pathways promoted under the CBC.
