NAIROBI, Kenya – In a bid to calm a swelling wave of public frustration, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has assured Kenyans that all students will sit for their national exams this year free of charge, despite earlier budget signals suggesting otherwise.
Speaking during a Monday night interview on Citizen TV, Mbadi acknowledged the initial uproar triggered by reports that the government intended to scrap the examination fee waiver.
He admitted that this year’s budget, at first, did not include provisions for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and other national exams—but said the funds have now been secured.
“Initially, we did not provide examination fees for this year, but we have made the money available,” Mbadi stated. “I assure all Kenyan students that they will sit their exams. The government will pay for it; we are just restructuring the system.”
That restructuring, however, is what set off the firestorm in the first place.
Earlier, Mbadi had cited ballooning budget deficits as the reason for proposing an end to the exam fee subsidy, which was introduced in 2015 to support the government’s push for free and compulsory basic education.
According to him, the current model—which costs taxpayers roughly Sh11 billion annually—was simply not sustainable in the long term.
His remarks didn’t land softly with the public. Concerns quickly flooded social media and civil society spaces, with many arguing that withdrawing the waiver could worsen inequality and place undue strain on already struggling families. The idea of parents footing the bill for national assessments didn’t sit well, especially given rising costs of living and unemployment.
To address that, Mbadi outlined a new proposal: a differentiated payment model, where only vulnerable households would continue receiving government support for exams, while others would be expected to contribute.
The shift, he explained, would ensure sustainability without compromising access for the most disadvantaged.
But the issue, it seems, runs deeper than just who pays.
The Treasury CS revealed that the Cabinet had also raised eyebrows over the logistics behind exam administration—particularly the eyebrow-raising decision to print exam papers abroad.
“As Cabinet, we didn’t understand why examinations were printed out of the country, yet more sensitive documents like passports are printed here,” he said.
He added that the Ministry of Education has now been tasked with overhauling the system to reduce costs. A more affordable and locally managed framework for administering national assessments is in the works.
“The Ministry had to come up with a more realistic structure of administering and funding exams, not the Sh11 billion that was being spent,” Mbadi noted.
The clarification comes at a crucial time as the national exam calendar draws closer, and with it, a renewed focus on Kenya’s long-standing promise of inclusive, accessible education.
While many welcomed Mbadi’s reassurance, the underlying questions about education funding, equity, and efficiency remain—along with a public that’s more watchful than ever.
