Woman takes own life over fees hitch

• Mother of six was unable to raise cash for Form One child

A 40-year-old woman has committed suicide in Markwet East District after failing to raise school fees for her Form One daughter.

The body of Josephine Kipyatich, a mother of six, was found hanging from the roof of her house in Kapchesum village.

No suicide note was found but relatives claimed she had been stressed by the school fees she was to raise for her daughter, who is to join a secondary school in Narok.

Koibirir location chief Alfrick Lorem said the woman used a skirt to hang herself.

Ms Kipyatich was the fourth wife in a polygamous family and had been deserted by her husband.

The school admission letter required that she pays Sh15,000 in tuition fees for the first term. Other items and transport required Sh25,000, a relative said.

A relative said the woman had another child in secondary school who was being sent home every now and again over unpaid school fees. She had accused the area Constituency Development Fund committee of sidelining her children on bursary allocations.

Her body was moved to Kapsowar Mission Hospital mortuary.

Elsewhere, teachers have asked the government to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor to check the high school drop-out rate.

Teachers, parents and pupils from the North Rift yesterday said many of last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education candidates could not join their favourite schools because they could not afford the fees.

“The escalating poverty levels risk throwing to the dogs the gains this country has made in education unless the government steps in with appropriate interventions,” said Kenya National Union of Teachers Rift Valley secretary Sammy Bor.

The group said those mostly affected were students set to join national and provincial schools, adding that they were finding the fees charged beyond their reach.

Emmanuel Chirchir, who is due to join Alliance Boys High School, challenged the government to consider lowering fees for students who qualify for national schools as a way of appreciating their impressive performance.

“We should not pay more. We can inspire others to work hard if we end up in such better schools and pay less,” he said.