Thousands of students who did not receive SMS notifications after the release of the 2026/2027 university and college placement results should not panic, with the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) confirming that the messages are still being sent.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer Agnes Wahome explained that the agency initially prioritised sending messages to applicants who had successfully secured placements, with unsuccessful applicants set to receive their notifications afterwards.

"We have those that indicated in the application that, in the event they do not get any of the main preference choices, place me in any of the available programmes. We also have about 3,000 that said that in the event that I do not get any of these, I do not want to be considered for anything," Wahome said during an interview on NTV .

"They are the ones who are calling and saying that I did not get a message. So they will get a message informing them that they were not successful; it's just that yesterday we first focused on the ones that got the placement. We will be sending them the messages," she added.

📌 What You Need to Know

Wahome also announced that KUCCPS will open a one-month application window to allow students who wish to change their courses after placement, saying the move is aimed at ensuring learners pursue programmes that best suit their interests and abilities.

In addition, students who have already joined universities but feel they are struggling in their current programmes will also be allowed to apply for course changes, provided they do so before September.

The announcement marks the first time KUCCPS has allowed course changes immediately after placement as part of the government's policy of ensuring every qualified learner has an opportunity to access higher education and qualify for funding under the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and the Higher Education Fund (HEF).

The latest directive also covers about 51,000 students who qualified for placement but failed to submit applications during the just-concluded placement cycle. They will be given another opportunity to apply alongside students seeking available vacancies .

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba directed KUCCPS to immediately develop a mechanism for late applications, insisting that no eligible student should miss out on higher education because they failed to apply within the initial application window.

"We recognise that some eligible students did not apply for placement because they may have opted to seek alternative pathways to higher education and training. Still, some of them may have missed the opportunity to apply because of other circumstances," Ogamba said while releasing the placement results.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke