The Elimu Bora Working Group, affiliated with the Kenya Human Rights Commission, has issued a warning, stating that the e-Citizen fee payment system is on track to become Kenya’s biggest scandal.
In a statement released on Sunday, February 11, 2024, the lobby group expressed concern that the Kenya Kwanza administration lacks a well-thought-out solution to address numerous 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 said.
Elimu Bora also alleged that the 2023 KCPE results for 1.4 million students were hastily released, and they criticized the results for 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 criticized the government for not disbursing 37 percent of the funds allocated to schools in the current financial year. The lobbyists have accused the government of falling short in achieving a 100 percent transition from primary to secondary schools.
Moreover, the group contends that the quality of education has declined since the current regime assumed office.
“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 lobbyists also assert that over 130,000 students, out of the 1.4 million who took the KCPE in 2023, are unable to access Form One due to financial constraints.
“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 stated.
