It is now clear that all students seeking to pursue Mathematics-related courses could soon be required to have a minimum of C (plain) in English or Kiswahili.
The candidates sitting the 2021 KCSE exam will be the first to encounter the rule, if the proposal put forward by public university bosses is adopted.
This new proposal will not affect the cut-off entry grade to university that still remains C+ (plus) but it will rather affect individual subjects required for one to pursue their preferred course which include computer science, ICT, economics, statistics and finance.
In the past,the students only needed Mathematics as the subject determining their placement to these courses.
With this new arrangement,the students will need Mathematics plus English or Kiswahili to qualify for placement under government sponsorship.
This is as a result the recent mass failure in an English test by health workers who applied for jobs in the UK.
Mid this year ,July, kenya reached an agreement with Britain to allow unemployed Kenyan health workers to serve in the UK’s National Health Service.
As per the Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, only 10 out of 300 health workers passed the English exam.
This proposal by the university bosses could be a way to ensure proficiency in communication among graduates.
The students admission to agricultural, building and construction programme.This also will include some education courses has however they have been made easier under the proposal.
Education stakeholders have proposed to lower entry requirement for Biology, Physics or Chemistry from a C+ (plus) to a C (plain) for students seeking to pursue Bachelor of Science with Education.
The stakeholders have scrapped Mathematics as a requirement to pursue a Bachelor of Education-CD. Prospective students will now need to score just a C (plain) in either English or Kiswahili.
All students who want to pursue environmental sciences will now have a wider scope of subjects to secure a place in university, with the introduction of Geography as an alternative to Chemistry, and Agriculture as an alternative to Biology.
This has been taken as providing a softer landing as more students perform better in Agriculture and Geography compared to Mathematics and Chemistry.
The two subjects, English or Kiswahili will now be a requirement for environmental sciences.