Nursing Tops Applications as 27,000 Compete for Fewer Than 3,000 Slots in KMTC Placement.
The Ministry of Education has announced that nursing programmes have received the highest number of applications in the 2024 Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) placement, with 27,000 applicants vying for 2,986 training slots.
This was revealed on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba during the release of placement data by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS). The numbers show a huge mismatch between demand and training capacity in health sector programmes, particularly nursing.
Ogamba said the high demand for nursing courses is a sign of shifting student priorities and increased interest in health careers. “The highest number of applicants at 27,000 is an indication that the demand for nursing programmes is growing,” he said.
In the overall placement to KMTC programmes, 52,725 applicants applied. Of these, 25,034 were placed, including 6,750 who had a mean grade of C+ and above in the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.
Other health-related programmes that attracted high numbers of applications were clinical medicine, surgery, medical emergency technician and community health. But all were capacity constrained just like nursing.
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The placement was done under the new KUCCPS framework following the implementation of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform recommendations. The Ministry of Education has promised to increase training infrastructure in priority sectors to meet the growing demand and national human resource needs.
The 2024 placement also saw 93,207 applicants placed in government Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country. The Ministry said continued investment in the health training sector is necessary to address the gap between applicant numbers and institutional capacity.
Nursing Tops Applications as 27,000 Compete for Fewer Than 3,000 Slots in KMTC Placement.