Clergy want parents bound to pay all fees
Deputy President William Ruto speaks during a past function. Mr Ruto, while ordering the headteachers to release the certificates held over fees arrears, said the government wanted to make learning free in every sense of the word. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- According to Bishop Maurice Makumba, who is the chairman of the commission for education and religious education of the bishop’s secretariat, the order to release all held certificates, school balances notwithstanding, would lead to parents not paying school fees even if they were able.
- Deputy President William Ruto, while ordering the headteachers to release the certificates held over fees arrears, said the government wanted to make learning free in every sense of the word.
Catholic bishops have proposed that parents of secondary school students be made to commit themselves to pay all the fees for four years before a child is registered in a school.
This, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) said, would help in solving the controversial issue of release of certificates that have been held over fees arrears.
According to Bishop Maurice Makumba, who is the chairman of the commission for education and religious education of the bishop’s secretariat, the order to release all held certificates, school balances notwithstanding, would lead to parents not paying school fees even if they were able.
He said that there needed to be a way to make sure the parents paid and the schools released the certificates.
“Many parents might decide as a result of this directive not to pay fees even if they are able; the slogan would be ‘government will write off any debt, so why pay.
“Many headteachers will find it increasingly difficult to run the schools and as a result, the standard of education will go down drastically,” he said.
The bishops proposed that awarding bursaries be streamlined to make sure the beneficiaries were deserving students.
Deputy President William Ruto, while ordering the headteachers to release the certificates held over fees arrears, said the government wanted to make learning free in every sense of the word.
“We are also proposing the school boards of management be mandated by the ministry to assess each fee arrears case and determine genuinely unable parents. For those parents unable to pay, the government must device ways to clear the outstanding balance within a clearly defined time frame,” Bishop Makumba said.
The bishops also noted that the time within which the school leavers obtain their certificates after completing studies was crucial as delays adversely affected their lives.
The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association has warned that schools would no longer be lenient with parents who don’t pay fees.
Association chairman John Awiti said last week that the parents of continuing students were the ones to suffer.
