Over-priced trips put schools on spot as parents complain

An association of private schools on Saturday fought back numerous complaints from parents who are questioning exorbitant fees being charged for children’s trips covering extremely short distances.

Since Friday when a journalist tweeted about a school asking Nairobi-based learners for Sh2,000 for a trip to Thika Road Mall, parents have been fuming with regard to the amounts they are required to pay to facilitate school trips for their young ones.

Among material shared in the online discussion was a letter issued on Wednesday from an institution in Nairobi where a junior school will be travelling to Two Rivers Mall to “promote local tourism”, “see domestic plants and animals in their natural habitats”, among other reasons.

Each child will pay the Sh2,300 for the one-day trip to take place between 8.30am and 3pm this Wednesday.

But the Kenya Private Schools Association, through its CEO Peter Ndoro, said parents should not be quick to cast aspersions on schools as there are many factors that go into the pricing of trips.

ENTRY FEE

“It depends on the distance, what they are going to see, the entry fee, the food the children are going to get and also probably the extra care that they may require as they go for the trip,” Mr Ndoro told the Sunday Nation.

“You can’t say ‘to visit just Two Rivers Mall’ before clearly understanding what it entails because people may exaggerate issues,” he added, while referring to the case of learners visiting Two Rivers Mall next week.

“There are play areas. When you go there, what are the costs? There are quite a number of costs that are involved there. You may find that probably they’ll be bought some food. You know the cost of food at Two Rivers Mall.”

The issue most parents had is the way learners on tour do not usually get value for the money paid.

“At a school (name withheld) we paid a whopping Sh7,000 for a night trip in Nakuru, only for them to sleep at Kabarak University dorms with mattresses down. No more trips. I put him in a vehicle and we go together,” tweeted one parent.

VISIT ORPHANAGE

Another wrote: “I once paid Sh1,300 for the child to see Nairobi and its environs (don’t ask me where that is). By 2pm, they were back in school because the buses need to take the rest of the children home.”

“Another time we had to pay Sh4,000 for children to visit an orphanage, then there were demos and they didn’t go. No refund a year later,” moaned another parent.

So, do schools organise children’s trips for profiteering? Mr Ndoro did not give a straight no.

“I can’t say that trips are used to make money for institutions or owners; but what I know is that these trips must be self-funding. But you can’t say that schools are putting in profit margins. That might not be the case,” he said.

“It is because schools will not go to their fees vote to fund transport. Probably it was not factored in the school fees,” he added.

Mr Ndoro said that before the price of a trip is set, the school management has to be involved.

“It is not just arbitrary pricing. It is based on the activities and that is what is costed,” he said.

Mr Ndoro went on: “For schools that are members of the association, we also try to explain to the parents why they are paying a certain amount of money for a trip.”

Another reality that parents need to live with, he said, is that such trips are not compulsory, unlike school fees.

ARBITRARY PRICING

Given the arbitrary pricing of trips, Mr Nicholas Maiyo, who is the chairman of the National Parents’ Association, yesterday asked the Education ministry to come up with guidelines.

“The ministry should come up with a standard price because schools actually overprice trips, overburdening parents,” he said.

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed did not immediately respond to our written query on the matter.

Below are some of the observations by parents on social media, edited for clarity:

“I was made to pay for school trips: Sh1,500 to Bomas in one school, and Sh200 to Karen Resurrection Gardens by a different school. Both used their respective school buses from Ngong Road!” – Hadiyya

Fredrick: “Mine were supposed to pay Sh3,000 for a trip to Bomas yet the school is within Nairobi. I’m not boarding!”

GIRAFFE CENTRE

“I know one who was made to pay Sh1,500 for a tour to Uhuru Park.” – Ben

Manndun: “My Class Two daughter refused to go to Giraffe Centre. She counted it was her 7th time since she was in Baby Class.”

“I paid Sh1,300 for a Class Two pupil learning within Kisumu, only for them to leave school at noon to go to Kisumu Museum. Guess what? They carried packed lunch from school — pilau and watery juice.” – Lydia

Cecilia: “And I thought my baby’s school was crazy. I’m paying Sh2,000 for her class trip to The Hub, Karen. We live in Kiserian; been there severally. I was like ‘really?’”

“I paid Sh1,500 for lunch and snacks only for my son to feed on soda and bread.” – Frank