School heads asked to abide by fees guidelines or face consequences

The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association has asked principals to abide by government guidelines on school fees.

Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said the school heads who need to raise fees to cater for projects should seek the authority of the Ministry of Education.

However, some parents expressed their reservations on the implementation of the guidelines, saying that despite the warning, school heads still increase fees.

National Parents Association Chairman David Maiyo asked parents to hand over fee structures for schools that have gone against the government guidelines so that they can be presented to the ministry for action.

However, Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary- General Wilson Sossion said that with 37 per cent of the teachers in schools being employed by parents, the cost of education would continue to rise.

RUNNING PARALLEL PAYROLLS

“School heads are running a parallel payroll for teachers. This can only be solved if the government hires about 90,000 teachers at Sh30 billion, which is available,” he said.

School heads, he added, should not be pressured to accommodate more students, warning that such move would erode the quality of education.

The current fees structure provides that the government provides a subsidy of Sh12,870, while parents pay Sh53, 554 for those in boarding schools. For those in day schools, a parent is supposed to pay Sh9,370.

Parents with children in special needs schools are required to pay Sh37,210, while the government provides Sh32, 600.

Education CS Fred Matiang’i said the fees guidelines must be implemented without exception.

“All the regional coordinators and county directors of education must ensure that this is strictly adhered to and employ all sanctions, including barring any defaulting principal from being a signatory to school accounts,” said Dr Matiang’i.