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Proposal to increase school fees worrying

Editorial logo Nation.Africa

By  Editorial

A proposal by secondary school principals to increase fees is alarming. The school heads have submitted a request to the Ministry of Education, which could see parents pay up to Sh27,000 more for their children. The principals are frustrated over inadequate capitation, which has made schools pile up huge debts.

Of course, the government says head teachers should not increase fees and should not send the learners home. The capitation has not just been reduced gradually, but is also never disbursed on time. Schools do not always receive the Sh22,244 capitation per student. They often end up getting less than Sh10,479 despite the surge in inflation and operational costs.

Headteachers are not miracle workers. They need funds to perform. The government should prioritise its programmes. The affordable housing programme, health insurance, livestock vaccination and other initiatives are great, but should education not get adequate attention?

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Access to education is a constitutional right the government should guarantee. Though parents have a responsibility to cater for their children by paying fees, high increases will definitely lead to school dropouts.

The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association says the capitation was last reviewed in 2018. Today, many schools are unable to buy adequate learning materials, pay non-teaching staff, and provide meals to students.

The principals want national school students to pay an extra Sh19,628 annually and Sh27,488 for those in the extra-county schools. Learners in day schools should pay Sh5,372 annually.

The partial and delayed disbursements of capitation amid the rising costs of goods and services have placed immense strain on the school managers.

However, the country spends a lot of money on unnecessary expenditure, which could be channelled to education. Foreign and domestic travel gobbles up massive resources and yet the return on that investment is in most cases not even evident.

The buck stops with the government, which should ensure enough and timely release of capitation to schools. Any proposal that will further hurt the financially burdened Kenyans should be rejected.