Scrap need for birth certificates in national exams, State told

By Titus Too

The Parliamentary Committee on Education Science and Technology wants the Government to suspend compulsory requirement of birth certificates in the registration of national examinations.

The committee noted that requisition of the certificates would lock out a high number of potential Standard Eight and Form Four candidates.

Committee chairman David Koech also accused the Immigration Ministry of laxity and slowness in issuance of essential documents to citizens.

"The Ministry of Immigration has failed in its role of issuing birth certificates and we urge the Education Ministry to suspend the requirement of certificates during registration," said Koech.

Speaking in Kapsabet on Saturday, the Mosop MP said majority of students from rural areas lacked the documents.

"It is right for Education Ministry to ask for the documents, unfortunately, Immigration Ministry has failed Kenyans in issuance of birth certificates and also Identification Cards (IDs)," said Koech.

He said thousands of Kenyans have been lining up in respective district headquarters for the documents whose process of acquisition has been hectic.

Material shortage

Koech’s remarks came as fears emerge that over 50,000 potential candidates in the North Rift region might miss to register for examinations due to lack of the documents.

The Government has, however, stated that it faces challenges of material shortage for the processing of the documents.

There has been an upsurge of KCPE and KCSE candidates applying for birth certificates across the country to beat the March 31 deadline.

Koech added that parents have been spending huge sums of money in a bid to acquire the documents.

At the same time, Koech challenged the Ministry of Education to give periodical updates of schools to enable KCPE candidates make informed choices.

He noted that status of some schools keeps changing every year and there was need to enlighten KCPE candidates before choosing their preferred institutions.

"Some schools have changed from boy to girl schools or girl to boys, while others have been promoted to provincial schools and it is important for Kenyans to know the new status," he said.