Parents To Pay More For School Fees As Principals Propose Increment

Parents will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay more for school fees after headteachers proposed an 8,000 shillings school fees increment in what they term a move to address the high cost of living in the learning institutions.

Last year and these years, the academic calendar has four school terms instead of the usual three. The principal’s increment, suggested in a formal petition to the ministry of education, would essentially take away a subsidy the government extended to cushion parents during the covid-19 pandemic.

During an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday, April 20, Kenya Secondary Heads Association (KSSHA) chairman, Indimuli Kahi, said the proposals discussed in the ongoing principals’ conference in Mombasa and the outcomes would be made public.

He explained that school fees were last reviewed in 2014, adding that the cost of living had since gone up sharply. According to Indimuli, principals were struggling to meet the basic needs of students, citing the increase in expenditure that the high food prices have caused.

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“We are making our proposals, and we ask stakeholders to contribute to them. It is now eight years since the fees were increased, and we are all aware that inflation has gone up.

“The schools purchase from the same market and pay the same electricity rate. We also have to pay workers who have an annual salary increment. It is time we have a review,” he explained.

The principals also want the government to boost the free Day Secondary Education capitation to get the cash-scrapped institutions out of crippling debts.

However, their proposal to increase fees was immediately opposed by the National Parents Association chair Nicholas Maiyo who said parents are already financially overburdened. He, however, supported the demand to increase the capitation.

In a memorandum to the Ministry of Education, the school heads have proposed that fees paid by students in boarding secondary schools be increased by 8000 shillings and government capitation raised to about 30,000 shillings from the current 22,244 shillings allocated per learner annually.

According to the Ministry of Education fees guidelines, students in national and extra county schools in selected towns should take this year’s charge of 45,000 shillings. In comparison, those in extra-county schools are required to pay 35,000 shillings.

In the 2014 review, the Ministry of Education capped fees for boarding schools at Ksh53,553. On his part, Kenya National Parents Association (KNPA) chairperson, Nicholas Maiyo, stated that students will be the most affected as parents struggle to make ends meet.