Pressure is mounting on President William Ruto to issue a directive on releasing Kenya Certificates of Secondary Education (KCSE) withheld by school heads.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, January 15, Manyatta Member of Parliament John Gitonga Mukunji pleaded with Ruto to give the order.
He stated that it was wrong for the school heads to keep the documents as they were putting the lives of the students in jeopardy.
“I want to appeal nationally to president Ruto to give a directive that all certificates for public secondary schools be released to students so that they can join TVETs, colleges and universities to continue with their lives,” he pleaded.
In a nation where the level of unemployment is so high, and a tough economy that has seen top students living miserable lives, Mukunji noted that the situation was being made worse by the school bosses who failed to release the certificates.
“You cannot prosper without these certificates. The moment you hold them behind it means you have put their lives to a halt. You can’t even secure a job without them,” he noted.
He further added that the school fees balances which were being used as an excuse to withhold the certificates had no impact on the institutions as they are always funded by the government.
Mukunji made an order in his constituency for all the public school heads to immediately issue the certificates to affected former students.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) lawmaker who founded a company with Ksh25,000 HELB loan, expounded on how he had become tired of complaints from students who were suffering after completing school.
Lack of certificates could force the students into forging papers, a trend that had been witnessed in the past among politicians.
“If one has completed his form four even with school fees balance give the certificates to the students to further their studies. No school has been indebted since the government has been funding these schools,” he noted.
On November 9, 2022, the Ministry of Education issued a directive to primary and secondary school heads to release students’ certificates in their custody.
In a statement by the then Basic Education Principal Secretary, Dr. Julis Jwan, the schools were warned from charging any levy before releasing the documents.
County Directors were also instructed to ensure the directive was adhered to.
"The Ministry of Education has sent numerous reminders and circulars to schools through the field officers warning them against the introduction of extra levies, withholding KCPE/KCSE certificates and conducting illegal tuition during the weekend and school holidays," Dr Jwan directed.
