๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Members of the National Assembly Committee on Education have raised alarm over school burdening parents with illegal levies and demanded immediate action from the Ministry of Education to end the practice.
In a meeting chaired by Hon. Julius Melly, lawmakers questioned the Ministryโs failure to enforce fee guidelines, citing cases where parents were forced to pay as much as KSh27,000 in additional charges, including a performance improvement levy of KSh3,000 per term.
โI have a case in point,โ Hon. Mary Emaase said. โA needy child in my constituency, sponsored by Family Bank and supported by the community, was sent home for failing to pay KSh27,000 in extra charges. The principal said the money would be collected at the gate when schools reopen. Who gave this directive? This is affecting vulnerable parents.โ
โWe raised this last year, and the CS promised to issue a circular within two weeks. What action has been taken? Parents cannot continue to bear this exploitation,โ Hon. Clive Gesiro pressed.
In response, Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Prof. Julius Bitok, said the Ministry had issued a gazette notice outlining approved school fees and promised โimmediate, decisive action. against the implicated school. โKindly furnish us with the details. I will take firm action on that particular case,โ said Prof. Bitok.
He noted that governance problems often stemmed from Boards of Management (BOMs) and revealed that 15,900 education managers had already been trained under the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) to strengthen accountability.
On the broader education budget, Prof. Bitok defended the Ministryโs priorities, saying the sector had received a record KSh700 billion allocation for the 2026/27 financial year up from KSh127.9 billion in 2025/26 to KSh134.7 billion for the State Department for Basic Education.
โFor the first time in many years, we released capitation funds before schools opened. The transition to junior and senior schools has been challenging, but despite the teething problems, we are succeeding,โ said PS Bitok.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about transparency in the school feeding programme, asking for the criteria used to identify beneficiary schools. Ministry Officials told the Committee that selection was guided by a property index and other factors developed to improve targeting, replacing the previous administrationโs list.
The PS also disclosed that the Ministry was developing a central database to coordinate all scholarships and bursaries to avoid duplication between the National Government Constituencies Development Fund, the Ministry, and private foundations.
Committee Chair Hon. Melly directed the Ministry to submit a report within 20 days confirming that all withheld examination certificates had been released in line with a presidential directive.
โThe PS is the custodian of policy; principals are employees of the TSC. No school should hold certificates. We expect a full report,โ said Hon. Melly.
