The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has issued a strong warning to all schools after releasing the 2023 KCSE and KCPE certificates.
In an official update shared on Monday, April 28, KNEC reminded schools that it is illegal to withhold examination certificates from students under any circumstance.
The council emphasized that candidates who are denied access to their certificates should immediately report the matter to the Sub-County Director of Education.
“It is against the law to withhold a candidate’s certificate. Any candidate facing this situation should promptly report to the Sub-County Director of Education,” KNEC firmly stated.
Along with the warning, KNEC also announced that all 2023 KCSE and KCPE certificates had been dispatched to all schools that had presented candidates for the national examinations.
The certificates were sent through the Sub-County Director of Education offices across the country. Candidates have now been advised to get in touch with their respective schools to collect their certificates.
This warning comes at a time when there has been a rise in complaints from parents and students, many of whom have faced challenges accessing their certificates.
In most cases, schools have refused to release certificates due to unresolved financial issues, especially unpaid school fees.
It has become a common practice for some schools to hold onto candidates’ certificates until all school dues, such as outstanding fee balances, are cleared.
However, KNEC and the government have made it clear that this practice is illegal and must stop.
Earlier in March, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba also addressed the issue. He issued a stern warning to schools, noting that some certificates have been withheld for as long as 10 years.
On March 25, Ogamba ordered schools to release all withheld certificates within 14 days, stressing that school principals should find alternative ways to recover any pending debts.
“I gave a directive that all certificates that have been held, some for over a decade, must be released immediately.
School principals should find other methods to recover any dues owed instead of punishing former students,” CS Ogamba said.
To solve the problem of withheld certificates permanently, the government is now considering a new plan where certificates will no longer be stored by schools. Instead, they could be kept under the custody of education officers to protect students’ rights.
Besides discussing the release of the 2023 certificates, CS Ogamba also revealed on Sunday that certificates for the 2024 KCSE candidates would be available starting this week.
He urged parents and guardians to ensure that students enroll in universities before the upcoming April 30 deadline. Currently, the university enrollment rate stands at 72 percent.
In 2024, a total of 962,512 students sat for the KCSE examinations. Out of these, 246,391 candidates scored a grade of C+ or higher, qualifying them for university admission under the current system.
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