The government's spokesperson, Isaac Mwaura, has issued a stern warning to school principals withholding national examination certificates from students over fee-related issues.
In a statement on Monday, April 14, Mwaura said that school principals found unlawfully withholding certificates from students will face disciplinary and legal repercussions.
According to Mwaura, the Ministry of Education has directed county directors of education to submit a report of uncollected academic certificates in their respective counties within the next 14 days.
"The government will not tolerate this continued impunity, and stern actions will be taken against schools who continue to defy this directive," he said.
"The ministry has been instructed to take immediate and firm action against any individual who continues to defy this directive," he added.
Mwaura stressed that a national examination certificate is a property of the student and denying them the document not only undermines the country's education but also contravenes the law, specifically children's rights.
"Denying any student access to their academic credentials undermines the very foundation of our education system and compromises the rights of the child. The government will not tolerate this continued impunity, and stern actions will be taken against schools who continue to defy this directive," he said.
The development comes weeks after the Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogomba, assured that the government is in the process of ensuring that all Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificates are collected from government offices rather than from schools.
The CS noted that schools do not have the right to withhold students' certificates, a practice he also branded as unlawful.
The CS, who spoke on Monday, March 17, wanted students sitting for the KCSE to collect their certificates from Subcounty Education offices rather than their former schools.
On March 19, the MPs National Assembly Committee on Education claimed that many students who lack official academic certificates in the country have ended up being forced into untrained labour.
Following the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), only three groups from the 8-4-4 system remain and will be sitting for the KCSE exams.
