Bad News for Parents as Principals Push for School Fee Hike.
Parents could face higher education costs if proposals by secondary school principals to review school fees are adopted.
The proposal was presented during the ongoing Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa, where school heads cited rising operational expenses, inflation, and delayed government capitation as major challenges affecting the management of schools.
According to KESSHA, the current secondary school fee structure was established in 2015 and has remained unchanged despite significant increases in the cost of goods and services over the past decade.
Under the proposed fee structure, learners in day secondary schools would pay annual fees of Ksh37,675, while students in county boarding schools would pay up to Ksh87,781 annually after government capitation is factored in.
KESSHA National Chairman, Willy Kuria, said the existing funding model is no longer sustainable and requires urgent review.
“The current fees charged in secondary schools were set in 2015, about 11 years ago. It is therefore no longer possible to sustainably run our institutions under the existing framework,” Kuria stated.
The association noted that the government currently provides Ksh22,244 per learner annually through capitation. However, school heads argued that frequent delays in the disbursement of the funds have placed institutions under financial strain and disrupted operations.
KESSHA revealed that recent assessments indicate the actual annual cost of educating a learner in a national school has risen to Ksh110,025. The cost stands at Ksh105,866 for learners in extra-county schools and Ksh87,675 for students enrolled in county schools.
School principals identified food costs as one of the major contributors to rising expenditure in boarding institutions, citing significant increases in the prices of essential commodities over the years.
“The movement in the price index of goods and services between 2015 and 2026 reflects a substantial increase in the general cost of living and, by extension, the cost of running educational institutions,” Kuria explained.
The school heads further attributed the growing funding gap to the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling, rising costs of educational materials, and increased operational expenses across learning institutions.
KESSHA also cited the implementation of Competency-Based Education (CBE) as a factor driving higher costs, noting that the expanded curriculum requires additional investment in infrastructure, specialised equipment, laboratories, and teaching resources.
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According to the association, learning areas such as music, electricity, home science, theatre and film demand substantial investment in equipment and facilities, yet current funding allocations do not adequately cater for these requirements.
The concerns raised by school principals received support from the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers, which warned that delays in capitation disbursement continue to affect school operations and the delivery of education services.
The proposed fee review is expected to form part of broader discussions between education stakeholders and the government on the financing of secondary education and the sustainability of learning institutions across the country.
Bad News for Parents as Principals Push for School Fee Hike.
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