Government makes u-turn on national exam waiver
The government reinstates the Ksh5.9 billion funding for national examinations waiver after uproar.
The government reinstates the Ksh5.9 billion funding for national examinations waiver after uproar.
Parents with children set to sit for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Junior Secondary School (JSS), and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams this year can breathe a sigh of relief after the government reinstated the Ksh5.9 billion funding for national examinations.
The National Assembly’s Education Committee of Education Chair, Julius Melly, on Monday, May 26, told the Committee on Finance to source the money from the recurrent capitation vote for schools.
Melly proposed that Ksh3 billion be removed from Secondary Schools’ capitation, Ksh2 billion from Junior Secondary Schools, and Ksh900 million from Primary Schools.
However, Melly noted that the total requirement for national examinations stands at Ksh11 billion, leaving a funding shortfall of Ksh5.1 billion.
“Examinations are a critical component of our education system. Without proper funding, the credibility and effectiveness of the assessment process is at risk,” said Melly.
Speaking during the session, Kiharu Member of Parliament, Ndindi Nyoro, slammed the government for not allocating funds for national exams.
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“It was very insensitive for the government not to allocate money for examinations. It was even more abhorrent to hear CS John Mbadi trying to justify the reason for non-budgeting for examinations,” said Nyoro.
On May 24, Treasury CS John Mbadi announced that the budget for the 2025/26 fiscal year will not accommodate the national examination fees entirely.
The Treasury CS explained that the fee subsidy would be retained for learners from poor households.
Mbadi said the move is aimed at cutting costs and freeing more revenue to critical areas of the economy as the government strives to shun loans.
“We have to review the costs in the sense that we must ask ourselves, why should we pay examination fees for all students? You see, in 2026, Kenya is projected to have approximately 3 million students sitting for their national examinations, around 1.2 million anticipated to sit for KIPSEA, and over 960,000 for KCSE.
“If your child is learning in a private school where you pay KSh 300,000, KSh 1 million in a year, honestly, can’t you pay KSh 5,000 for the examination fee for that child? Why should you force, make Kenyans, taxpayers, some of whom can barely eke a living, to pay an examination fee for your child?” Mbadi posed.
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