Education CS George Magoha has warned school heads against increasing school fees after some national public schools issued a fee structure of Ksh 80,000 from the recommended Ksh53,554.
A report by Daily Nation indicated that the CS warned all headteachers barring them from raising the fees to be charged per head.
The schools raised the fees arguing that the money would be used to improve infrastructure, purchase sanitisers among other requirements.
The issue was raised by the Kenya National Parents Association (KNPA) which claimed that some of its members had decried the increase of the tuition fee terming it frivolous.While addressing the press on Wednesday, December 30, the CS directed the headteachers to stick to fee guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education.
He further directed that schools should not deny students, both in primary and secondary schools, admission on the basis of fee arrears.
“No child should be sent home for fees. We have Ksh19 billion to facilitate free education for both primary and secondary school and this money shall be wired to the institutions by next week,” stated the CS.
He went on to add that Ksh14 billion would be awarded to secondary schools while Ksh5 billion would be given to primary schools.
KNPA Chairman Nicholas Maiyo disclosed that the association had received complaints from several parents that schools had increased fees in contravention to government’s guidelines.
Some of the additional charges raised by parents include a Ksh1,500 charge indicated as a ‘teacher motivation’ by various schools.
Maiyo explained that the association was engaging various schools and would compile a list of those that would have contravened the directive
This comes even as 56,000 students from both academic levels remain in the red as 339 private institutions across the country permanently shut down.
In his address, Magoha challenged existing institutions to allow students to learn under trees to comply with the social distancing directive from the Ministry of Health.