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{
    "id": 1380771,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1380771/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 595,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ezekiel Machogu",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Education",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13458,
        "legal_name": "Ezekiel Machogu Ombaki",
        "slug": "ezekiel-machogu-ombaki"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker and Member for Nakuru Town West Constituency, Hon. Samuel Arama. Yes, we have a law which was enacted by this august House, stating that it is against the law for any institution to withhold KCSE or KCPE certificates due to a student for any reason, including non-clearance of school fees. To be specific, if you go to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) Act, which is an Act of this Parliament, Section 10(1)(b), it clearly prohibits institutions or any persons, be it a principal or teacher, from withholding KNEC certificates or diplomas from the candidate. We have issued guidance to all schools through the County Directors of Education, of course, stating the legal position to the effect that no certificate is supposed to be withheld on account of non-clearance of school fees. I attached a copy of the circular. I know there are rogue ones who could be in any other institution. Even as the law prohibits crime, you find people committing crime. Even in the Bible, the 10 commandments tell us not do this-and-that, but people end up doing it. My officers are under very firm instructions. We have also made it very clear with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that it is an offence punishable under the laws of this country. We shall involve the State to take decisive and very firm action. The only thing is that a culprit can never be known if information is not brought forward. We cannot generalise. Kindly Members, when you have specific cases, bring them to my notice or my Principal Secretary because our officers in the field are sometimes unable to take remedial action. So, kindly, let us know. This is one area we are very clear about. We cannot mess up the lives of young people who require those documents in order to seek employment or go to the next level of education. In case you find any such teacher, as I have said, let us know and we will take the necessary action. There are those who give excuses like the parents or student never came for their documents. Immediately they are warned, they give them out trying to defend themselves and mitigate by saying nobody went for those documents. Once we find such cases, we always make sure that the documents are released with immediate effect."
}