CS Mbadi rules out parents paying for KCSE exams amid budget row
Mbadi said the suspension of exam funding was temporary and aimed at reviewing how the funds have been used in the past.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has assured parents that they will not be required to pay for their children's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, despite the government's failure to allocate funds for the national tests in the latest budget.
Speaking during an interview on Ramogi FM on Wednesday, Mbadi said the suspension of exam funding was temporary and aimed at reviewing how the funds have been used in the past.
He attributed the funding freeze to alleged misuse of the Ksh11 billion allocated annually for printing and administering national examinations.
Mbadi questioned the rationale behind the government footing the exam bill and raised concern over the high costs incurred in printing exam papers outside the country.
"We have not removed the money so that parents can pay. No parent will pay the examination fees. We are trying to assess various things, including why the government should pay a student's examination fees," he said.
"As a minister, why should the government pay my child's examination fees? Why must our examinations be printed in London, England? Just a mere examination?"
Mbadi said the decision to withhold funds was meant to allow the government to restructure the examination budget and seal loopholes used for misuse of public money.
He assured that the necessary funding would be reinstated once a proper framework is established.
His remarks came just hours after Members of Parliament on the Education Committee criticised the Treasury for failing to allocate any money for national exams, warning it could destabilise the education sector.
Committee chairperson Julius Melly accused the Treasury of sidelining a vital process and questioned why the exams, which take place every year, had been left out of the budget.
"Exams are activities that take place at the end of every year. Summative exams have to take place. But you have presented a budget with zero. Why is it not in the budget?" Melly asked Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok.
Bitok acknowledged the concerns and admitted there were gaps in funding.
He promised to work with both the Treasury and the Kenya National Examinations Council to find a solution.
"We assure the public that we are discussing with the National Treasury to ensure that we address this issue," Bitok said.
