Reprieve for parents as boarding school fees cut

Parents of students in public boarding secondary schools have a reason to smile after the government reduced school fees for the academic year that will run from July 26, 2021, to March 4, 2022.

In this rare move, the Education ministry has slashed Sh8,000 for students in national schools and those in extra county schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret, which are classified as Category A.

The learners in this category usually pay Sh53,554 annually, with the government topping up with a tuition capitation of Sh22,244, bringing the total to Sh75, 000.

In a circular released dated June 16, 2021, parents with children in the category will now pay Sh45,000 in the next financial year in what Education PS Julius Jwan said is due to the short nature of the next academic year, which will run for 30 instead of the usual 39 weeks.

The shorter term is a result of the crash programme to recover lost time when schools closed in March last year and reopened in January. This year and 2022 will have four school terms each instead of the usual three. The new calendar year will begin on July 26 and the second term on October 11. The third term will begin on January 3, 2022.

Other public secondary boarding schools including extra county schools in Category B, which are not in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret will now pay Sh35,000 from Sh40,535, a difference of Sh5,000.

All secondary special schools are categorised as national schools and receive an enhanced capitation of Sh57,974 per learner, with the parents expected to pay Sh12,790 per year. The schools cater for learners with impairment like visual, physical, hearing and mental.

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Reduced capitation

In the revised guidelines, the government has, however, reduced capitation to these schools to Sh53,807 which includes a government subsidy of Sh19,053 per learner for boarding equipment and stores and a top up grant of Sh12,510 per learner to cater for assistive devices and any additional personal needs.

Like the other cases, however, the amount payable by parents has reduced to Sh10,860 per learner.

There were no changes in the policy on public primary schools and day secondary schools which are theoretically fully State-funded, even though parents incur charges for meals and other levies approved by the Ministry of Education.

However, the circular is silent on the provision of face masks for learners in public schools even with signs that the country could be in the throes of a fourth of the pandemic, which has harmed the education calendar.

Private schools have borne the brunt of the pandemic with many winding up after the long closure of schools last year as they solely depend on school fees.

In the circular, the PS announced that the government would supply English literature and fasihi set books to Form Three and Four students in all public secondary schools in 2021 in line with syllabus requirement.

“School principals are advised not to procure the set books for the two classes,” Dr Jwan announced, adding that the data obtained on the National Education Management Information System (Nemis) will be used for the purpose.

Dr Jwan said next year’s capitation will be disbursed in equal instalments of 25 percent of the approved budget per quarter of the financial year.

Also read: Fees row: Student attacks, injures Ainamoi Secondary School principal  

Proper registration

A school must be duly registered and headed by a head appointed by TSC to benefit from the capitation and registered on the Nemis platform, register and update learners records on the portal to benefit from the capitation

The ministry asked school heads to ensure that data on the Nemis platform is accurate because funds to actualise the procurement and delivery of the set books shall be retained from the government’s subsidy account.

The government will also provide Sh5,000 per student from the government subsidy as a maintenance and improvement fund per year whose purpose is to ensure a proper learning environment with adequate school infrastructure and other improvements.

For boarding schools, an additional Sh2,000 per student will be provided for a parent’s contribution which will only be used for immovable assets and other forms of infrastructure in the school that may require upgrading.

The National Parents Association chairman Nicholas Maiyo had in an earlier interview petitioned the government for a bailout plan to ensure all learners go back to class arguing that the pandemic has adversely affected families’ livelihoods.

Among the interventions that the association had sought was a stimulus package in which the government was to support parents by increasing the capitation per learner in primary schools by Sh1,000 on the usual Sh1,420 and Sh5,000 more per learner in secondary schools to the current Sh22,244 that the government sends to schools.

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