Bitter suffering for those who lost, damaged Knec certificates

Thousands of Kenyans who have lost or damaged their Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) certificates are a suffering lot as they endeavour to overcome hurdles in their quest to replace the invaluable documents.

Saturday Standard has catalogued the pains of Kenyans who have been trying to replace their certificates for months and even years.

Isaack Juma, 26, says the loss of his certificates has brought him untold suffering.

“The building that housed the documents in my secondary school burned to the ground,” Juma says.

This has led to a series of unfortunate events, including missing out on job opportunities for lack of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate.

He has tried to seek a replacement from the Knec, which does not replace certificates but issues letters of grade’s confirmation to the institution in need of them.

“This is not a free service. It’s expensive if you apply for several jobs,” said Juma.

Early this year, Juma camped at the Knec offices in Nairobi for three days after the then Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i declared that everyone who wanted their certificate replaced should do so within a month. While there, he met a former schoolmate facing the same predicament.

“I paid a fee of Sh3,840 and after the 10-day mandatory waiting period, I was told it had not been printed and if I wanted it to be done faster, I was to part with more money,” he said.

He also had to part with another Sh3,751 for courier services used to send the letters.

“Each time you need to use your academic credentials, you have to go to them (Knec) for another confirmation letter. This means parting with more money,” said Juma.

Knec charges Sh2,320 for an examination results slip or Sh3,480 if its to be mailed outside the country. If the statement is sent by fax, one pays an extra Sh928 within Kenya and Sh1,392 outside.

An extra Sh928 is charged for those wishing to have the statement sent through fax within the country, while sending it outside it will cost you Sh3,480.

The processing and dispatching of the letter takes 10 working days.

The fees may appear minimal, but costs one much more if they want several statements sent to different institutions. Strictly, Knec does not give the letters to individuals, and one would therefore have to go back to them every time they require the confirmation documents.

Juma questions why this crucial document cannot be accessed online via the E-citizen portal.

Cecilia Njiri, 27, a resident of Nairobi, opted for self-employment after failing to replace certificates she lost in a robbery. 

“In the beginning of 2016, I went to Knec Mtihani House South C, Nairobi, and paid Sh5,800. In July of the same year, I was told to wait for three months. I went back and was told to wait for another three months,” says Ms Njiri.

In 2017, she went back again and Knec told her they are not issuing replacement.

“Replacement should not be charged,” says Ms Njiri.

In April 2017, Knec through the council’s deputy secretary in charge of field administration Mohamud Ibrahim, announced that it will not replace lost, damaged or defaced certificates.

According to Mohamud, the move was meant to stop fake certificates.  Five Kenyans have sued Knec over the decision. The case is still pending at the court. Saturday Standard was unable to reach Knec CEO Mercy Karogo over the matter.