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Ending examinations fee waiver a bad move
Government officials oversee the distribution of KCSE examination papers at Kiawara Police Station in Nyeri County on November 4, 2024.
A government’s competence is best judged by how well it manages two key sectors: education and health. Sadly, in Kenya today, both are in a worrying state of disarray.
Education, just like the health sector in the current administration, is becoming the theatre of the absurd. The latest move by the government to scrap the national examination fee waiver—introduced in 2015 under President Uhuru Kenyatta—is both misguided and alarming. It is yet another show of what looks like governance by trial and error.
For nearly a decade, this policy enabled thousands of learners from both public and private schools to sit national examinations without financial hindrance. It played a critical role in supporting the 100 per cent transition policy. Now, with little explanation, the waiver is being revoked.
The National Treasury Cabinet secretary claims the government will identify the “truly needy” and offer targeted subsidies. But this is wishful thinking from a regime that already struggles to disburse school capitation funds on time. This policy shift will likely lock out countless deserving learners.
Kenyans understand we are in difficult economic times. But the solution is not to place the burden on schoolchildren. If the government is genuinely interested in cutting costs, let it start with bloated and opaque ministry budgets or questionable infrastructure projects. Education should be the last place to wield the austerity axe.
Corruption remains rampant in many arms of government, bleeding billions of shillings annually. Sealing those financial leaks would more than cover the Sh5 billion needed to retain the examination fee waiver.
Education is not a luxury. It is the foundation upon which Kenya’s future rests. It should never become a political football, kicked around to score short-term points or mask deeper policy failures. This latest move will widen inequality, demoralise learners, and threaten an entire generation’s prospects.
If a policy has worked well for 10 years and served the nation effectively, why break it? A government that truly values its people must protect education, not politicise it.