Joint Admission Board of Kenya (JAB) was the body that was mandated to conduct a joint admission exercise of students who have cleared secondary school into the Universities. The main aim was to ensure that only those who have attained a certain number of points are given priority to join the universities under a government sponsorship. The admission exercise was done annually at the beginning of every academic year and students who sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E.) the previous year are the ones considered.[1]
The board usually meets after the release of K.C.S.E to determine the cut-off points to join public universities. At the beginning the cut-off point was C+ which has now risen to a mean grade of B due to the increasing number of candidates who sit for K.C.S.E.
It was composed of representatives from all public universities and the Ministry of education. It was headed by a chairman who chosen from among them.Furthermore, there were three levels of authority at JAB;
The top level was a committee of vice-chancellors and the Ministry of Education representatives. The vice-chancellors ensured that all policies and procedures were adhered to and dealt with special admissions cases while the Ministry of Education participated to ensure that national policies are factored in whenever JAB was making decisions.
The second level was composed of deans, director of faculties, schools, and various institutes in the respective universities. They received the output of the JAB system and they in turn received the students into their various schools, institutes or faculties. The deans can also make recommendations on policies and matters that pertain the admission processes.
The third level was a combination of ICT technical staff and the bureaucrats who were collectively referred to as the JAB secretariat. Their main role was to maintain the JAB and administer the JAB process.The following universities and affiliated colleges were represented in JAB[2]