The Elimu Bora Working Group allied to the Kenya Huma Rights Commission now says the e-Citizen fee payment system is poised to become Kenya's biggest scandal.
In a statement on Sunday, February 11, 2024, the lobby group said that the Kenya Kwanza administration does not have a well-thought-out remedy to help fix many challenges affecting the education system.
"The Ministry of Education initially established Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) within secondary school premises; however, JSS is currently domiciled in primary institutions. Implementing a new higher education funding model was hastily executed, excluding qualified and deserving students from accessing tertiary education and training," the lobby group stated.
Elimu Bora also alleged that the 2023 KCPE results for 1.4 million students were hastily released, containing numerous errors and omissions.
"This has compromised the integrity of national examinations, including the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), which also suffered from inaccuracies in its results," the group added.
The group has also faulted the government for failing to release 37 per cent of funds allocated to schools in the current financial year. The lobbyist has also accused the government of failing to achieve a 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools.
The group also says that the quality of education has gone down since the current regime took over.
"Parliament allocated Sh628.6 billion to education in the current financial year. However, the regime failed to release 37 per cent of capitation funds to schools in 2023," the group added.
"Despite this regime's 100 per cent transition policy, it has done little to achieve quality. Out of 899,453 students who took the KCSE in 2023, 48,174 received a grade E, showing the education quality is decreasing. Only 22.3 per cent secured a minimum entry grade to university, while 77.7 per cent failed to make the cut. Unfortunately, no measures have been taken to return these students to class or improve the quality of education."
The group also claims that over 130,000 students, out of the 1.4 million who took the KCPE in 2023, cannot access Form One due to financial constraints.
"President William Ruto championed the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) as a solution to the challenges in our education sector. However, concerns raised by MPs suggest a lack of clear policies and legislative frameworks to implement PWPER's recommendations," they added.
"In 2022, all KCSE candidates were instructed to enroll in universities and colleges. Unfortunately, the government failed to disburse loans, leading to financial challenges for students during the September-December semester. Many did not sit end-of-semester exams due to the lack of exam cards issued upon fee clearance."
The Elimu Bora Working Group is demanding a public mobilization to ensure that all children are in school and learning and cessation of discordant roadside policy pronouncements.
The group is also demanding that the regime establishes a National Education Fund to guarantee that all students get free and compulsory basic education, and enhanced access to tertiary education.
"The Elimu Bora Working Group demands public education for all—including the vulnerable, children with disabilities, urban slum residents, rural poor, hard-to-reach, and insecure communities—must be planned and implemented based on a holistic school approach," the group added.
