Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Vihiga has protested the recent insensitive policies by the ministry of education where, the Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba declared schools that still withhold candidates KCPE and KCSE certificates illegal.
KUPPET Vihiga Executive Secretary Sabala Inyeni describe Ogamba’s directives as reckless and insensitive, raising the question on how schools are going to collect the fee arrears from the students and parents after issuing out the certificates.
“As much as this move may sound so popular in the eyes of parents and students, it will go down as one of the most reckless directives ever issued by a CS. After giving out the certificates without payment of fees arrears? How does the CS expect the school heads to deal with the suppliers and other creditors? Is he also directing the suppliers to write off the debts owed by the school?” remarked Sabala.
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This kind of leadership is not what we need in such a sensitive docket at a time when CBC transition is underway. We are losing our head teachers to pressure due to the unbearable working conditions occasioned by these incentive directives by the ministry and TSC,” he added.
Ogamba recently warned school principals against withholding school certificates of students who completed the KCPE or KCSE examination noting that such move is against Kenyan law to hold crucial documents regardless of the reasons provided by the school administration.
“Holding a student’s Certificate when they have completed school on the basis of either school fees or that a student lost a book, or a student broke a window is illegal. I gave a directive that all the certificates that have been withheld and some I understand for over 10 years, need to be released and those principles need to get other methods of recovering whatever dues that might have arisen,” said Ogamba.
The CS insisted that the 14-day order to release the withheld documents is in place, and necessary measures shall be taken in case the documents aren’t released to rightful owners, adding that the directive applies to both public and private-owned learning institutions in line with with the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Act of 2012.
Ogamba urged principals to seek alternative means of recovering money owed by students; including seeking legal redress in courts, even has he revealed that plans are underway to allow collection of certificates in government offices by students.
By Roy Hezron
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