Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has instructed education officers in the field to ensure administrators of public primary and secondary schools stop imposing illegal levies on parents and guardians of learners.
Machogu said he had received complaints that head teachers of public primary and secondary schools were charging more fees than the schools were authorized to charge.
The CS made the remarks when he held a virtual meeting with Regional Coordinators of Education, County Directors of Education and Sub-County Directors of Education on wide-ranging issues on education from the Ministry of Education headquarters at Jogoo House, Nairobi on 13th February 2023.
Machogu stressed that school fees in secondary schools are capped at Kshs 53,554 for National Schools and Kshs 40, 535 for the other categories and warned head teachers against charging extra levies.
He further expressed concern that heads of Primary schools were charging Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) against the guidelines the government had issued.
“There is no payment of any kind in JSS as the government had allocated Shs.15, 000 to cater for expenses for JSS,” the CS noted.
Machogu has consequently asked field education officers to compile information on schools which were charging illegal fees and report them to his office for necessary action.
He also said grade seven learners should continue using desks they used in grade six until the school provides for them under the capitation the government would send to schools.
Further, Machogu cautioned schools and parents against registering grade 7 learners to sit for KCPE, maintaining that the government will not allow learners to sit for exams whose curriculum is different from the Competence Based Curriculum.
He directed the officers to ensure no grade seven learner is registered for KCPE.
The CS asked the field officers to ensure that all children who sat for grade 6 and those who sat for KCPE transited to Junior Secondary School and Form I respectively, under the 100 percent transition policy.
He urged the officers to work together with the National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) to mop up children to transit to the next level of education.
“No child should remain at home for whatever reason,” Machogu emphasized.
The CS also directed that County Directors of Education should monitor their regions to identify genuine cases of children not able to pay school fees for the government to take it up.
“It is your responsibility to ensure that such pupils are in school in line with the 100 percent transition policy as the government sorts out the school fees problem,” he said, reiterating that no child should fail to report to school because of school fees.
Machogu further asked education officers to account for Kenyan students who enroll in International Schools.
In attendance was the Principal Secretary for State Department for Basic Education, Dr. Belio Kipsang, Director General Dr. Elyas Abdi, and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya Dr. Harun Yussuf among other senior staff at Jogoo House.
Others included eight Regional Coordinators of Education, 47 County Directors of education, and over 300 Sub-county Directors of education.
By Michael Omondi
