Kaiti Member of Parliament, Joshua Kimilu, has issued a strong warning that he will push for a boycott of parliamentary sessions if the government fails to allocate funds for national examinations in the upcoming national budget.
Speaking to residents in his home county of Makueni, Kimilu expressed deep concern over the Treasury’s decision to remove all funding for national exams, saying the move puts the future of Kenyan children at serious risk.
He emphasized that education is a basic right and urged the government to act fast before the situation worsens.
“President Ruto, we have seen that the money meant for education has been slashed. That money must be brought back into the budget. If not, there will be no parliamentary sessions,” Kimilu said firmly.
He went on to stress the importance of ensuring that all students are able to sit their national examinations without any interruptions.
Kimilu added that the government should focus on key sectors such as education and development instead of sidelining them during budget allocations.
“Our children must be allowed to do their exams. We cannot talk about development while the education of our children is being ignored. We want development, but it cannot happen if our children are being denied their right to education,” he added passionately.
Earlier on May 14, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that parents would not be required to pay any fees for their children to take the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams this year, even though the government failed to allocate funds for the exams’ administration.
Speaking during a radio interview on Ramogi FM, Mbadi explained that the decision not to fund the exams was partly due to cases of corruption and misuse of funds in past years.
He said that the Ksh11 billion allocated annually for the printing and administration of the national exams had been significantly misused by some officials within the education sector.
According to Mbadi, the funding was paused temporarily to allow the government time to investigate and assess how the money had been used and how to improve accountability going forward.
However, just one week later, Mbadi made a new announcement that starting next year, parents would have to pay for examination fees themselves. This marks the end of a long-standing government waiver that had allowed students to sit exams for free.
While this announcement may give some relief to parents who had feared they would need to pay the fees immediately this year, the reality remains grim for many families.
Starting next year, the removal of the waiver will increase the financial burden on households that are already struggling with rising school fees and the overall high cost of living.
Mbadi defended the government’s decision, saying that the previous model of paying for exams for all students, including those in private schools, was no longer sustainable.
He suggested that in future, government support should be targeted towards students who genuinely cannot afford the fees, especially those in public schools.
“We need to reconsider the cost structure. Why should the government pay for exams for every student, even those in private schools? We should be focusing our support on children from poor backgrounds, especially those in public schools.
The current model is not affordable anymore due to competing needs and increasing pressure on the budget,” Mbadi said in an interview on NTV.
The developments have sparked national debate, with many education stakeholders and leaders like Kimilu warning that the government must reconsider its priorities.
They say that failing to support national examinations could harm not just the education system, but the country’s future.
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