Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has revealed that plans are underway to have all Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificates collected from government offices rather than schools, as was previously the practice.
The plan comes barely three days after the CS directed all school principals to release the KCSE certificates they had been withholding due to fee arrears.
Sources privy to Kenyans.co.ke revealed that the CS told Members of Parliament (MPs) that he wants the issuance of KCSE certificates removed from schools after it was revealed that principals had disregarded his directive not to withhold the documents.
School principals were put on the spot for withholding the certificates and, in turn, hampering students from furthering their education because they lacked the required documents.
Speaking on Monday, March 17, Ogamba stated that schools had no right to withhold students' certificates, describing the practice as illegal and against the law.
According to Ogamba, despite ordering the principals to release the withheld certificates, they went on to block the students from collecting them.
The CS now wants candidates sitting for the KCSE to collect their certificates from sub-county education offices rather than their former schools.
The fresh directive comes against the backdrop of pressure from MPs on the Ministry of Education. MPs told the Ministry to ensure that the certificates are released so that students can secure jobs they have been unable to obtain due to the lack of certificates.
MPs sitting in the National Assembly Committee on Education on Wednesday, March 19, argued that many of these students have been forced into unskilled labour due to a lack of official academic credentials.
School principals explained to the Committee that they are compelled to withhold the certificates because schools are owed over Ksh20 billion in unpaid fees, making it difficult to release the certificates without financial implications.
In 2019, the then Education CS, George Magoha (now deceased), allowed only students genuinely unable to pay to collect their certificates without clearing fees, while others were required to clear their dues.
With the inception of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), only three groups from the 8-4-4 system remain and will be sitting for the KCSE exams.
The CS did not clarify whether these changes will apply to students under CBC, who will receive certificates at the end of Junior School (Grade 9) and Senior School (Grade 12).
