Teachers want papers order shelved

What you need to know:

  • Mr Awiti criticised the government over failure to consult school administrators on such matters.
  • He said schools could go broke and education disrupted if the huge outstanding fees were not paid in full.

Teachers have called for the suspension of a directive to schools to release certificates withheld over arrears, saying it could throw the institutions into a crisis.

The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association asked the Education ministry to give the institutions a proper formula to implement the order.

Chairman John Awiti said schools would end up incurring losses and this would adversely affect students.

Mr Awiti said the issue should be tackled in a way that ensures a win-win outcome. He was speaking in Kisumu at the weekend.
The official asked Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi to rethink the directive to avoid a crisis in schools.

Mr Awiti criticised the government over failure to consult school administrators on such matters.

“The other day, we were asked to give children contraceptives without being briefed on how we would monitor their use. We don’t want such things since they will ruin our schools,” he said.
At the same time, Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion called for caution in the implementation of the certificates directive.

Go broke

He said schools could go broke and education disrupted if the huge outstanding fees were not paid in full.

It is estimated that former students owe schools in Kenya a total of Sh14 billion in fees.

Schools have been withholding final exams certificates belonging to defaulters to compel them to pay.

“The worst part is that headteachers are expected to implement the directive yet they know nothing about it,” said Mr Sossion.

He spoke at Kericho Day Secondary School during a Knut branch meeting at the weekend.

Mr Sossion scoffed at plans by governors to employ teachers and push for the devolution of the education sector, saying that such a move was “impossible and could lead to chaos” owing to the small budgets controlled by county governments.

In Trans Nzoia, Ford Kenya leaders criticised the certificates directive, describing it as a populist strategy by the government aimed at covering up its failures.

Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa said the government was wrong as it had not provided schools with alternative ways of paying their debts.

Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi warned that some schools could be forced to close down. “The directive will make some parents refuse to pay school fees,” he said.

Reported by Moses Odhiambo, Timothy Kemei and Philip Bwayo