The Ministry of Education has announced the release of 2024 KCSE certificates, kicking off the week of April 27, 2025, a deadline that couldn’t come at a more critical time. Education CS Julius Ogamba has pressed students and guardians to pick up certificates urgently, warning that the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) portal closes on April 30. With over 962,000 candidates having sat the exams and only 246,391 securing the minimum C+ grade needed for university admission, timely collection is non-negotiable for those hoping to lock in their higher education spots. Yet, this milestone is clouded by a stubborn and illegal practice: the continued withholding of certificates by school principals chasing unpaid fees, despite the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) Act of 2012 outlawing the behavior. Top education leaders, including PS Julius Bitok and Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, have slammed the practice as a violation of students’ rights, but many principals remain defiant. PS Bitok has now issued a blunt circular demanding immediate certificate release and compliance reporting within 14 days, reflecting the Ministry’s boiling frustration with rogue school heads who continue to treat legal orders as suggestions.

Fed up with defiance, the Ministry is now raising the stakes, moving from warnings to hard action. CS Ogamba has made it plain: starting the week after certificates are released, principals who still withhold them will face disciplinary and legal consequences. This marks a sharp turn — no more polite memos, no more ignored directives. But even more critical is a deeper systemic fix in the works: plans are advancing to pull certificate collection entirely out of schools’ hands. Under the new model, students will pick up their documents directly from Sub-County Directors of Education (SCDE) offices, a shift that aims to kill the problem at its root. It’s a bold move, built on the successful pilot earlier this year when KCSE result slips were sent through SCDE offices. Stripping principals of the power to hold certificates hostage cuts out the middleman and restores certificates to their rightful owners — the students. Beyond logistics, this strategy is about restoring trust in the education system itself: showing that once a student earns a certificate, no one — not even a principal — should stand between them and their future.

The next few weeks will be the true test of whether this shake-up delivers real change. For the 2024 KCSE candidates, quick access to certificates is the key that unlocks university admission, job applications, and life plans that can’t wait. For principals who defy orders, this time the consequences are meant to be real — legal action, career-ending sanctions, public accountability. And for the education system as a whole, the shift to SCDE offices could become a model for breaking down entrenched administrative abuses that have long crippled student mobility. But this won’t happen automatically: it’ll require tight coordination across counties, clear instructions to SCDEs, public communication campaigns, and a Ministry willing to enforce its own rules without flinching. If it works, it will not just be a victory for this year’s candidates — it will set a new standard for fairness and efficiency in how Kenyan education treats its students. Either way, the clock is ticking, and the Ministry’s next moves will show if it’s serious about turning bold words into bold action.

References:

The Standard KCSE Certificates to be collected from government offices, not schools

Daily Nation KCSE 2024: Highest university qualifiers recorded in eight years

Kenyans.co.ke KNEC to Release 2024 KCSE Certificates This Week As KUCCPS Portal Closes

Kenyans.co.ke KCSE Certificates to Be Collected from Govt Offices Instead of Schools