School Heads Stripped of Power to Withhold KCSE Certificates Over Fee Arrears

Form Four leavers will from next year collect their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education certificates from sub-county education offices in a radical departure from the longstanding practice of collecting them from their schools.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the change while appearing before Members of Parliament, stating that the decision aims to end the persistent problem of school principals withholding certificates from students whose parents have unpaid school fees.

The move comes despite numerous government directives and existing laws prohibiting the practice, which has continued to deny thousands of students opportunities for higher education and employment.

Ogamba was responding to a question by Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo, who questioned why former students continue to be denied their certificates due to outstanding fees balances.

“Instead of these protracted tussles between the students and principals, why can’t the Kenya National Examination Council send the result slips directly to the students, just like e-Citizen and birth certificates, where you don’t have to go to the place where you were born to get a birth certificate?” Oundo asked.

The Cabinet Secretary welcomed the suggestion, revealing that the government had already considered sending certificates to sub-county offices with copies of registers sent to schools to confirm collection by students.

“That way, there will be no challenge or a situation where the students are suffering or being told to pay many things before receiving the certificate,” Ogamba said.

The Kenya National Examinations Council Act 2012 explicitly states that no certificate should be held by any institution or person for any reason, making the withholding of certificates an illegal act.

The government has repeatedly emphasized this position but enforcement has remained a challenge.

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association Chairperson Willy Kuria welcomed the proposed change, though he raised concerns about implementation.

“We completely have no problem with that decision. In most cases, it is the students who fail to come for certificates,” Kuria said.

However, he warned that sub-county offices may face challenges with safe custody, noting that some certificates have remained uncollected in schools since the 1960s.

He also pointed out that the large numbers of students to be served could overwhelm sub-county offices.

Charles Ochome, the national chairperson of the Kenya Private Schools Association, also backed the directive, saying private schools would comply with whatever the government decides since it is the government that prints the certificates.

The directive will bring relief to thousands of students who have suffered after completing secondary school, unable to access their certificates due to unpaid fees. Many have been locked out of university admissions, job opportunities, and further education due to the practice.

In May this year, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki reminded school heads that withholding certificates violates government policy and directed them to comply immediately.

“It is not an option, we are not requesting you. We are directing all heads of institutions to release certificates for the children of Kenya and then we can follow up on the issue of payments as a separate issue. There are pending bills everywhere. I speak on behalf of the President and government, principals, let’s not play monkey games,” Kindiki said during a function in Molo Constituency, Nakuru County.

In April, Ogamba had issued a stern warning to principals, stating that the government would take disciplinary action through the Teachers Service Commission and pursue legal action against those who continued withholding certificates.

The Cabinet Secretary argued that it was illegal for principals to punish students for their parents’ failure to pay school fees, noting that the contractual agreement to pay fees exists between the school and the parent, not the student.

“All the certificates they are withholding bear the name of the student, not the name of the parent. No school has a contractual agreement with the student to pay fees, they have a contractual agreement with the parent,” Ogamba explained.

Despite these repeated directives, principals have continued to withhold certificates, arguing that releasing them without clearance of fee arrears leaves schools with huge financial burdens, as the government offers no remedy for the debt.

School heads also contend that it becomes difficult to follow up with parents or students once certificates are collected.

The new system, set to begin with the 2025 KCSE results, will see the Kenya National Examinations Council dispatching certificates directly to sub-county education offices, effectively removing school principals from the certificate distribution chain and eliminating their ability to use the documents as leverage for fee collection.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​