Secondary School Principals Demand An Increase Of Fees By 27,000 Annually Or Schools Will Shut

Kenya’s secondary school principals are sounding the alarm: without urgent intervention, schools may shut down due to crushing debts caused by inadequate capitation funds. Their proposed solution? Raising school fees by up to Ksh 27,000 annually—a move that would push education further out of reach for the majority of Kenyan families.

This proposal exposes a deeper, more troubling question: where does the money we pay in taxes go? Kenya’s taxpayers contribute billions to the government, yet public schools are crumbling under financial strain. The government boasts about economic growth, but when it comes to funding critical services, the money is mysteriously absent. How can a government that collects trillions in taxes fail to fully fund secondary education?

The Burden on Parents: Who Can Afford This Hike?

The reality is stark—if fees rise by Ksh 27,000, over 80% of parents will be unable to afford secondary education for their children. This is not speculation; it’s a fact grounded in Kenya’s harsh economic realities. The cost of living has skyrocketed, wages remain stagnant, and unemployment is rampant. Asking struggling parents to fork out an extra Ksh 27,000 per year is akin to condemning their children to a future of illiteracy and poverty.

Education is not a luxury; it is a constitutional right. The Kenyan government, under Article 43 of the Constitution, is obligated to provide free and compulsory basic education. Yet, instead of increasing capitation funding to ensure schools operate smoothly, it is once again shifting the burden to ordinary citizens.

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Government Incompetence: A Crisis of Priorities

Kenya’s financial mismanagement is not new, but the situation in schools highlights its worst effects. Billions are wasted on inflated tenders, ghost projects, and unnecessary foreign trips while critical sectors like education are left to rot.

• The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is being forced down Kenyans’ throats with no clarity on how it will function.
• Billions are spent on non-essential government offices and presidential advisors, while students sit on broken desks in underfunded schools.
• Government officials drive fuel-guzzling convoys while schools lack basic infrastructure.

This is not just incompetence; it is negligence of the highest order. Why should struggling parents be forced to pay more while the government wastes money on luxuries? The answer is simple: those in power do not care about the common mwananchi.

The Solution: Increase Capitation, Not Fees

The only viable solution is for the government to increase school capitation funding instead of raising fees. Schools should receive adequate resources to operate without pushing the burden onto parents. This requires the government to:

1. Immediately release all pending capitation funds to schools without delay.
2. Reallocate funds from wasteful government expenditures to directly support education.
3. Audit and eliminate corruption in education financing to ensure every shilling benefits students.
4. Cap school fees permanently to prevent arbitrary increases that lock out poor students.

Final Question: Where Is Our Money?

The government must account for the taxes it collects. Before asking parents to pay more, the Ministry of Education and Treasury must explain why, despite collecting trillions, our schools are still struggling. Until then, any attempt to raise fees should be seen for what it is—a betrayal of the Kenyan child.

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