MPs slam heads’ plan to hike fees

MPS have rejected a proposal by the secondary school heads association to increase fees and instead, called for a review of student capitation.

The development comes even as the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association fronted a proposal seeking to increase the fees.

The headteachers cite a huge funding gap in schools, high cost of commodities and erratic disbursement of capitation by the government.

“The current capitation of Sh22,244 per learner was last reviewed seven years ago and it is, therefore, incongruent with the prevailing economic realities,” the school heads stated in the proposal.

However, the push to increase the fees amid a biting economy has triggered a furore among Senators, who now want the Ministry of Education to block any attempt to hike fees.

They also want the ministry to review school capitation upwards. The capitation was last reviewed in 2018.

“Explain why the government has not reviewed the capitation allocation per student since 2018 to account for the rise in the cost of food, utilities and essential learning materials,” nominated Senator Catherine Mumma said.

The senator demanded answers from the MoE through the House’s Education Committee on why the ministry has taken so long to review the allocation.

The government pays Sh15,042 per year for Junior Secondary School students, Sh22,244 per year for students in free day secondary schools as well as those in national schools.

According to the proposal, parents with children in national schools would be required to pay Sh73,182 per year, an increase from the current Sh53,554.

This would mean an extra Sh19,628. For extra county and county schools, the principals propose that parents pay Sh68,023 annually, up from the current Sh45,554.

Kessha has also proposed the introduction of fees in day schools. Students in day schools would pay an additional Sh5,372 on top of the Sh22,244 capitation provided by the government.

Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu said hiking fees will be a burden on the shoulders of the parents who are already weighed down by taxes and the economy.

“Parents also have many difficulties because the cost of living in Kenya has gone up and everyone is feeling it,” she said.

“If we increase school fees for secondary schools, what will we be doing to parents and where are they going to get money? We should not add an extra burden to the parents,” she added.

Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogola said the twin challenge of delayed disbursement and non-review of capitation must be looked into as a matter of national urgency.

Increasing the fees when parents are struggling to put food on the table means many poor children will be forced to drop out of schools, he said