The Ministry of Education has launched a crackdown to weed out school heads accused of withholding students' examination certificates including the Kenya Certificate of Secondary and Primary Examinations (KCSE & KCSE) and Any KNEC Certificates.
Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Migos Ogamba, initiated the operation in response to concerns that students yet to clear school fees were not allowed to collect their certificates.
This is despite the law providing that all candidates who sit national examinations, the defunct Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), be provided with their results.
Migos, clarified that schools and their administrators act as intermediaries for the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) in distributing certificates to candidates and therefore lack legal grounds to withhold them.
“The Ministry has issued guidance to all schools through the County Directors of Education, emphasising the legal position to the effect that no certificate should be withheld on account of non-clearance of school fees,” the Education Cs explained.
However, despite the legal provisions and the issuance of circulars by both KNEC and the Ministry, he regretted that field officers have reported instances where certificates were withheld by schools, particularly due to outstanding fees, contrary to the law.
He emphasised that many cases go unreported as affected candidates attempt to resolve the matter directly with their schools.
“It is important to point out that many cases of withheld certificates are not reported to the ministry or KNEC as affected candidates attempt to resolve the issues between themselves and their respective schools.” he said.
Additionally, he said the government is considering implementing a technological solution to enable direct access to examination results for candidates in the future.
According to Machogu, the future will allow institutions and third parties to verify candidates' results from a centralised source managed and secured by the KNEC.
The system will also facilitate verification of basic education level results by higher education institutions and prospective employers, enhancing transparency and efficiency in the certification process.
Meanwhile, Education CS Migos has ordered all schools to release all withheld KNEC, KCPE and KCSE certificates to candidates with county education directors directed to give a report in 14 days.
