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The Ministry of Education has directed field officers to conduct comprehensive audit of all schools to establish which institutions have been withholding examination certificates.

It’s audit will date back from 2012 to date and is expected to establish why heads in both public primary and secondary schools have declined to release certificates despite the law providing that all candidates who sit for national examination be provided with their results.

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said once the audit is done, the ministry, together with Teachers Service Commission (TSC), will take specific action against the implicated school heads, to ensure the affected candidates get their certificates.

The Minister told MPs that the State is mulling the installation of a technology to ensure in future, candidates would directly access their results.

The system, Machogu said, would enable all institutions and third parties to access and confirm results of candidates from a single source operated and secured by Kenya National Examination Centres (Knec).

Such a system, he explained, will also be instrumental for facilitating verification of basic education level results by institutions of higher learning as well as potential employers.

“As a ministry, we have been exploring various solutions to address this problem of withheld certificates. One of the options we have considered is to strengthen the existing legal framework by making it a punishable crime to withhold a candidate’s certificate. The current law only prohibits withholding of a certificate, without providing for punishment,” he said.

He continued: “All candidates are, by law, entitled to their certificates upon release of their results. Every child in Kenya has a constitutional right to basic education and withholding of certificates violates this right.

“Section 10(1)(b) of the Kenya National Examinations Council Act, 2012 prohibits institutions or persons from withholding Knec certificates or diplomas from the candidate.”

Against the law

He informed the Parliamentary Committee on Education that it is against the law for any institution to withhold Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education or Kenya Certificate of Primary Education certificates due to non- clearance of fees.

He explained that schools and heads are merely agents of Knec for purposes of transmitting certificates to candidates and thus do not have any basis in law to withhold the certificates.

“Ministry has issued guidance to all schools through 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,” Machogu said.

He, however, regretted that despite the position of the law and various circulars being issued by both Knec and the ministry, they have received reports from field officers that certificates were being withheld by schools, especially on account of unpaid school fees, which is clear breach of the law.

“It is important to point out that many cases of withheld certificates are not reported to the ministry or to Knec, as the affected candidates attempt to resolve the issues between themselves and their respective schools. We will transmit the information to the committee once it is provided,” Machogu explained.

On the proposal that the ministry should consider recommending that Knec opens examination centres in every sub-county and post officer to coordinate examinations and receive all results once they are released and have all the examinees pick them, Machogu said having full-time personnel based in the field may not be economically feasible.

He explained that currently, Knec engages contracted professionals during the examination period, to support its operations in terms of coordinating examinations.

“In our considered opinion, this framework is adequate for purposes of coordinating the conduct of examinations, especially since national examinations are conducted periodically.

“In our view, the challenge of withholding certificates can be addressed specifically, though, for example, developing a system for direct access as I have mentioned, and taking other intervening measures such as targeted action against school heads found to be in breach of the law,” he said.

Machogu was responding to a question from Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, who sought to establish the number of certificates being withheld by school heads in both public primary and secondary schools since 2012.