Ministry Warns Schools Against Fee Hikes, Sending Students Home
Instead of sending students for unpaid fee arrears, school administrators have been instructed to discuss fee payment methods with individual parents.
The Director of Education for the Central Region, Sabina Aroni, explains that since the government pays tuition fees for students in both public Boarding secondary schools and public day secondary schools, it is possible for principals to agree on a method by which parents can pay any additional fees without sending students home.
Aroni, speaking to KNA on Wednesday morning, also disclosed that the reopening of schools in the entire Central Region was proceeding without any reports of anomalous incidents.
The education boss stated that the government is expected to cover expenses for both boarding and day secondary schools. In the case of day secondary schools, the payment required from students is solely for tuition, and the government handles this payment in installments.
When it comes to boarding schools, parents have the responsibility of paying for their children’s boarding fees. However, the principals have been instructed not to send students over this matter.
Instead, they are advised to engage in discussions with the parents to work out the best approach, as boarding fees are considered the parent’s responsibility.
Similarly, she has cautioned school administrators against the practice of indiscriminately increasing school fees, stating that such a decision can only be made with the approval of the Education Cabinet Secretary.
As a result, Aroni has instructed all school administrators who intend to raise tuition above the government-mandated amount to submit their proposal to the Ministry of Education for consideration.
“After they (school principals) seek the authority, they can increase the fees, but only after receiving the authority,” clarified Aroni.
The revised school structure has had a significant impact on parents since January of this year, when the government suspended the Sh8,000 COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Program, which had been in place since 2021.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu clarified the reason for the change late in the previous year, stating that the school calendar was being standardized.
He stated that unlike the previous year, when schools operated on a compressed calendar due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the dates for the fourth term will return to normal.
Machogu announced that starting January 23, 2023, there would be a return to the previous system of three terms, and as a result, the fee structure would remain unchanged from that of two years prior.
He made this statement during his address at Wajir High School on November 23 of the preceding year.
Machogu further emphasized that any claims regarding alterations to the figures are baseless within the Kenyan context. He asserted that any adjustments to school fees would necessitate the establishment of a separate task force.
According to a circular from the Ministry of Education, parents must now pay Shs 53,554 for national schools and extra-county schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika, and Eldoret.
After a 14-day vacation, students started returning to class on Monday of this week.
The third term was due to start on August 28 and end on October 27, 2023, according to the Ministry of Education’s calendar for pre-primary, primary, secondary, and colleges this year.
Learners who are not participating in the national examinations will take a break until January 8, 2024.
From October 30 to November 2, 2023, candidates in Grade Six and Standard Eight will sit for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), respectively.
Additionally, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) 2-6-3-3-3 will replace the 8-4-4 system this academic year for the last cohort of KCPE students.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, on the other hand, will run from November 3 to November 24, 2023.
According to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), there will be about 2.3 million candidates taking the KCPE and KCSE exams this year.
At least 1,415,315 candidates are expected to take the KCPE exams, and an additional 903,260 students will take the KCSE exams.
Ministry Warns Schools Against Fee Hikes, Sending Students Home
