Education Cabinet Secretary (CS), Professor George Magoha, has encouraged parents to take their children to school come, Monday, for first term, assuring that the government will have by then disbursed Sh76 billion to the institutions.
Magoha said the Government has released the money to cater for tuition and food to ensure that no child either in primary or secondary schools remains at home after 26th of this July when first term begins.
“The Government has now given all the money that was required. Close to Sh17 billion has been set aside for the public primary school sector and Sh59 billion for the public secondary school sector,” he said, adding each secondary school student has been allocated Sh23, 000 to cater for their needs, including lunch and school uniform.
The CS was addressing the media after a meeting with education stakeholders in Mombasa to plan on schools’ re-opening for first term on Monday next week.
He said school fees has also been reduced and parents with children in public boarding schools will henceforth be required to pay less fees unlike previously. This, he added, is due to the government’s move to reduce academic weeks from 39 to 30.
“Students in both primary and secondary schools, who are in day schools, will not be required to pay any amount, whatsoever, for school fees or lunch. With 75 per cent of the schools in the country being day schools, education will be free,” said Magoha.
The CS also assured parents who are eagerly waiting for the enrollment of their children to form one that no child will be left out in this year’s admission.
Magoha said that this year’s transition to secondary school at the Coast region will be 100 per cent as a majority of the students had received full scholarships.
Having previously met with Cabinet Secretary (CS), Dr. Fred Matiang’i, Professor Magoha assured that all students who had sat for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), examination will be enrolled in Secondary school at the beginning of the term.
“With the majority of the students in Mombasa County having obtained scholarships, the education sector will ensure that all of them go to boarding schools based on the fact that public day schools are already free,” he emphasized.
Saying school fee payments were made towards the end of the term, Professor Magoha cautioned schools heads against over-charging parents, warning that they will be dealt with severely should they do so.
He also directed schools’ management to ensure adherence to MoH’s Covid-19 containment measures in their institutions to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
By Chari Suche
