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{
    "id": 1409374,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1409374/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 157,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Malava, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Malulu Injendi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "of certificates violates this right. As the Hon. Member for Kilifi North rightly notes, Section 10(1)(b) of the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Act, 2012 prohibits institutions or persons from withholding KNEC certificates or diplomas from the candidates. It therefore against the law for any institution to withhold KCSE or KCPE certificates of a student for any reason, including non-clearance of school fees. Schools and school heads are merely agents of KNEC to transmit certificates to candidates. They therefore do not have any basis in law to withhold the certificates. The Ministry has issued to all schools through the 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. A copy of the circular dated 8th November is provided herewith. Despite the position of the law and the various circulars, KNEC and the Ministry through their various field officers often receive reports of certificates being withheld by schools, especially on account of unpaid school fees. This is a clear breach of the law which the Ministry is committed to end. Such cases whenever they occur, are to be reported to the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission for action. It is important to point out that many cases of withheld certificates are not reported to the Ministry or KNEC, as the affected candidates attempt to resolve the issues between themselves and their respective schools. However, in order to obtain a clear picture of the situation, the Ministry has instructed its field officers to undertake a comprehensive audit of all the schools within their jurisdiction to provide reports to the Ministry covering the period from 2012 as requested by the Hon. Member for Kilifi North. The Ministry will transmit the information to the Committee once it is provided. Once this information is available, the Ministry, working together with other stakeholders such as the Teachers Service Commission, will take specific action against the implicated school heads to ensure that the affected candidates get their certificates. As a ministry, they have been exploring various solutions to address this problem of withheld certificates. One of the options they 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 the withholding of a certificate without providing for punishment. The Ministry is also exploring the possibility of direct access by leveraging on the technology as proposed by the Hon. Member of Parliament for Kilifi North. The system for direct access that is being contemplated would enable all institutions and third parties to access and confirm the results of candidates from a single source operated and secured by KNEC. Such a system will also be instrumental in facilitating verification of basic education levels sold by institutions of higher learning as well as potential employers."
}