The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) application portal is currently open for degree, TVET and KMTC programmes, with a May 6 deadline.

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As part of its mandate to coordinate the placement of government-sponsored students to universities and colleges, the service also offers periodic career guidance and disseminates information for the benefit of students.

In line with this mandate, KUCCPS has advised students applying for the open study programmes to retain proof of payment of application fees, noting that it will be critical in the event of subsequent reapplication or revision of courses.

KUCCPS charges a mandatory fee of Sh1,500 for both degree and diploma placement services.

The amount is paid via eCitizen using M-Pesa, bank or card after submitting course choices on the student portal.

Upon payment through Paybill 222222, the government digital payment portal generates a reference number, which is used to complete the application on the KUCCPS student portal.

The reference number is sent together with the M-Pesa or bank payment confirmation code to the registered user’s phone number.

The eCitizen account number is unique to each student, even if paid via a shared phone, so it must be preserved to prove who paid.

KUCCPS cautions applicants not to use the M-Pesa transaction code as the final reference number, noting that only the eCitizen reference number is accepted to complete the application.

"Your Payment Ref is the account number you keyed in during payment. You can retrieve it from your M-Pesa payment message. Be sure to pick the account, not the M-Pesa code," KUCCPS said.

Why keep your payment reference number

This number is crucial for tracking payments and is specifically needed to resolve technical issues without requiring applicants to pay the application fee again.

"Keep the M-Pesa message; you need it to make changes to your application," KUCCPS added.

The reference code is required to verify whether payment has successfully reflected on the eCitizen portal.

If it has not appeared on the KUCCPS student portal, applicants can key in the reference number without making another payment until it reflects.

It is also needed when making course changes, as KUCCPS requires it during subsequent amendments to application choices on the student portal.

Lack of proof of payment during the initial application may necessitate a fresh payment.

In cases of reapplication, students who fail to secure a course or whose applications do not go through can use the same reference number when KUCCPS opens a reapplication window, avoiding the need to pay again.

With just two weeks to go before the current application window closes, KUCCPS has urged eligible students to submit their applications for degree, KMTC, TVET and TTC Diploma in Secondary Education courses.

The application window opened on April 7 and will close on May 6. It's open to both the 2025 KCSE class and Form Four leavers from other cohorts dating back to 2000.

The 2025 class can apply for both degree and TVET programmes.

The current KMTC application window is for the March intake.

An estimated 268,700 KCSE candidates who attained a mean grade of C+ and above in 2025 are expected to apply for degree programmes and will be admitted to the 43 public and 31 private universities from September.

The remaining 711,744 candidates, out of the total eligible candidature of 980,444, who scored between C plain and E and qualified for placement into public colleges and TVET institutions, will report to their respective colleges starting May.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) approved a total of 322,396 capacities for degree programmes in the universities, while middle-level colleges have a total capacity of 1,132,531 for this year’s placement to diplomas, certificates, artisans and other TVET levels.

Secondary Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) have a capacity of 2,480.