DP William Ruto directs schools to release withheld certificates

Kenya: Schools will no longer be allowed to withhold examination certificates of students for failure to clear fee balances, Deputy President William Ruto has said.

Mr.Ruto directed school heads to release all certificates in their custody to owners noting the government will settle balances.

‘’We have asked schools retaining certificates for whatever reason to release them to the owners and ask government to clear what was owed to the institutions, ‘’ he said.

The Deputy President was speaking at Murgan Secondary School in Kilgoris,Narok County when he commissioned projects in the school including a new bus.

He said the government was committed to reducing cost of education to make it available to all Kenyans.

Mr. Ruto noted that funds available for education will be increased sharply in the coming budgets to enable students acquire quality education adding that plans are underway to provide Secondary education completely free in the next three years.

“Within three years, this country will offer free secondary education to every young Kenyan of age”, he said.

He emphasized that no child should be out of school over fees irrespective of social status.

“We want free primary and secondary education to be truly free in every sense of the word,’’ said the Deputy President.

Mr. Ruto also said that the government had scraped payment of examination registration fees by Standard Eight and Form Four candidates, to cushion parents who are not able to pay the amount for their children to sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

“We have said that all candidates sit for examinations without being asked to pay because we want to ease the burden on parents and end discrimination by allowing all children to sit their examinations,” he said.

On farming, the Deputy President stated that the government was working on ways to further reduce the price of the subsidized fertilizer to lower the cost of farming and benefit farmers in the country.

“We are reducing the price of government subsidized fertilizer this year to Sh2000 for DAP and sh 1500 for CAN and we are asking County governments to built enough stores so that more stocks are kept close to the farmers,’’he said.

On infrastructure in the area,Mr.Ruto said the government will tarmac the Ndanai,Murgan Kilgoris road to open up the region and enable farmers transport their produce with ease.

Speaking during the same occasion Senate Majority leader Kithure Kindiki said that the Jubilee coalition will not accept calls for a referendum being advanced by the opposition Cord.

Kindiki noted that the government was aware of diversionary tactics being played by the Opposition adding that challenges facing the country cannot be solved through holding rallies.

‘’As the Jubilee coalition, we cannot support the call for referendum because you cannot go to a referendum to ask whether the price of flour should come down. We can only develop this country by building the economy - and that is our focus,”he said.

The Tharaka Nithi Senator further faulted mass action being advocated by Cord as a desperate attempt to clinch power through the back door.

‘’We cannot develop this country through making noise or holding street rallies that scare away investors ,let them try in 2017 although I do not see them making it either, they will have to wait until probably the year 2075 ,’’ said Kindiki.

Present were Narok Governor Samuel ole Tunai, ,Kericho Senator Charles Keter MPs ; Jonah Ngeno(Emuria Dikirr), Ken Keloku(Narok East)