Knec asks parents with candidates next year not to pay exam fees

Kenya: The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) has asked parents with candidates in next year's Form Four and Standard Eight classes in public schools not to pay examination fees.

A statement from the council says only private candidates and those from schools that do not receive free education capitation will foot examination fees.

Knec said the Ministry of Education will send the required examination fees for all the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

"It is now official that all candidates in public institutions that receive free primary and secondary school funds will not be expected to pay examination fees for the year 2015," read the statement from Knec.

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang yesterday said each candidate will have a different examination fee depending on the papers they intend to write.

"This will not be a block payment. It shall be paid based on subjects. And each subject has a different cost," said Kipsang.

The rest of the candidates who do not qualify for the waiver will be expected to pay examination fees between January and March next year.

The council says each Standard Eight candidate who does not qualify for the fee waiver shall pay Sh800.

Those in Form Four shall pay Sh2,700 as the basic examination fees and Sh400 per subject.

"A different subject fee is charged for KCSE candidates entered for the subjects with a project or practical or aural or oral component," reads the statement.

Kipsang said that only candidates in public schools will benefit from the fees waiver, noting that it is part of the free education programme.

"Nothing has changed because this is just an extension of the free education programme that targets those who already get capitation," he said.

Private schools have protested what they termed "selective treatment of children".

The Kenya Private Schools Association (Kepsa) said some 200,000 candidates, currently in private schools, would be locked out of the waiver programme.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have on many occasions said all candidates sitting national examinations will have their examination fees waived.

Sources at the ministry confirmed to The Standard that county directors of education have been instructed to collect data from schools ahead of the roll-out.