As Form Four graduates apply for degree and diploma programmes, candidates have been advised to keep their KUCCPS portal passwords secret to stop unauthorised access to their preferred courses.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) at a national career conference in Nairobi early this year warned candidates against leaving their passwords unattended.
People at the most risk are those applying for their diploma or degree courses at cyber cafes due to limited access to internet and technology.
“Your password should be very, very private to you,” Prof John Oluoch, the KUCCPS director of placement and career development, said, warning there have been instances where students give their passwords to cyber café attendants, giving unscrupulous ones room to “blackmail” the applicant or initiate a transfer on their own.
“Guard your password jealously,” Prof Oluoch said, adding that getting access to the portal should remain the prerogative of the applicant. It would be wrong, he said, to leave the password open to everyone while busy with other activities such as surfing the internet, social media, or rushing out to buy a snack or anything else.
The password can either be one’s KCPE index number or the birth corticated number used while registering for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.
He also warned applicants against paying the Sh1,500 application fees through the cyber café attendants.
Another source of confusion is the back and forth or “cat and mouse,” the official said, between parents and the sons and daughters since the former has access to the candidate’s access credentials.
Prof Oluoch asked parents not to “peep” through and change the course preferences of their children, leading to controversies about which programmes are marketable or suitable.
Families, the KUCCPS official said, should agree on the courses that their sons and daughters will be registering for without allowing the programme selection to wreak their relationship.
Generally, there have been silent wars in families when Form Four graduates differ with their parents, guardians or older siblings on course preferences. Cases have been cited where some graduates deposit their degree certificates at home with mum or dad to start on their careers of choice.
KUCCPS opened its portal for applications on April 7 and the activity will continue up to May 6. After this, unsuccessful applicants will revise their courses. It is also during the revision—which is free of charge— time that those who did not apply at all can make a placement request.
Once the revisions are concluded, the candidates get an opportunity to apply for transfer to a different university and programme if they are uncomfortable with their placement. It is during the transfers that another round of “drama” unfolds, according to Prof Oluoch when parents and the applicant clash over a course choice.
KUCCPS has been charging Sh1,000 for the transfers involving two universities and the placement agency.
In the 2025 KCSE exam, 270,715 qualified for university courses, an improvement from more than 246,000 a year earlier.
