Pain for Parents as Schools Seek Biggest Fee Increase in Years.
Parents have rejected a proposal by the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) to increase secondary school fees, arguing that the responsibility of financing public education rests with the government through adequate and timely capitation rather than additional financial contributions from households.
The proposal was presented during the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association annual conference held in Mombasa and seeks the first review of the secondary school fees structure since 2015. According to KESSHA, the current funding model is no longer sustainable due to rising operational costs, inflation and delays in the disbursement of government capitation.
If approved, the proposed fees structure would significantly increase the annual financial obligations for parents across all categories of public secondary schools. Annual fees for national schools would increase from Sh53,554 to Sh87,781.
Fees for extra-county and county boarding schools would rise from Sh40,535 to Sh83,622. Parents with learners in day secondary schools, who currently do not pay tuition fees beyond government support, would begin contributing Sh7,675 annually. The current government budgetary allocation for each secondary school learner stands at Sh22,244 per year.
KESSHA maintained that the proposed review is intended to address the widening gap between school operational requirements and available funding.
The association stated that schools have continued to experience increasing expenditure on food, fuel, electricity, learning materials, staff salaries and the implementation of Competency-Based Education (CBE), which has introduced specialised learning pathways requiring additional infrastructure, equipment and teaching personnel.
According to KESSHA, by the second term of 2026, schools had received only 56 per cent of the expected annual government capitation, resulting in a funding deficit equivalent to 24 per cent of the annual allocation per learner.
The association warned that without increased capitation or timely disbursement of funds, schools would be compelled to reduce services, postpone maintenance projects, delay payments to suppliers or seek additional financial contributions from parents.
The National Parents Association (NPA) opposed the proposal, stating that increasing school fees would transfer the burden of financing public education to families already experiencing economic hardship.
National Parents Association National Chairperson Silas Obuhatsa acknowledged the financial challenges facing schools but maintained that parents should not be required to compensate for inadequate government funding.
“The government is funding education to the extent that it can afford. However, if the government is unable to fully finance education, parents should not be made to bear the burden of fee increases,” Mr Obuhatsa said.
The association called on the government to develop alternative mechanisms for financing schools instead of introducing higher fees. It cautioned that additional charges would place further financial pressure on households already affected by the rising cost of living.
The National Parents Association further argued that vulnerable families, particularly those preparing learners for admission into senior school, could be excluded from accessing education if the proposed increases are implemented.
Mr Obuhatsa stated that although school principals were citing prevailing economic conditions as justification for the review, any discussion on increasing fees should first be accompanied by a corresponding increase in government capitation.
He added that the government remains the legally mandated authority responsible for approving any revision of school fees and should consider the prevailing financial circumstances facing Kenyan households before making a decision.
Parents also questioned why families continue to be expected to bridge funding gaps despite already meeting additional education-related expenses, including uniforms, transport, learning materials and other school requirements. They maintained that schools should direct demands for additional resources to the government rather than parents.
The proposed increases would substantially raise annual education costs for households with children in boarding schools. Families with two learners enrolled in boarding institutions would incur tens of thousands of shillings in additional annual expenses.
Parents expressed concern that higher fees could result in increased school transfers to lower-cost institutions, greater reliance on loans and fundraising, and increased school dropout rates among learners from economically vulnerable households.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) also attributed the financial challenges facing schools to delays in government capitation.
KUPPET Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima stated that schools continue to experience financial uncertainty because of inconsistencies in the release of government funding.
“As a union, we remain concerned by the perennial delays in the disbursement of capitation funds. Indeed, it is becoming difficult for us to track how much capitation funds are being disbursed due to constant changes in the disbursement criteria and contradictory circulars issued by the Ministry of Education,” Mr Nthurima said.
The Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KETHAWA) also opposed the proposal for a uniform increase in school fees.
KETHAWA National Secretary Ndung’u Wangenye stated that schools experience different financial pressures and that any proposal to increase fees should be considered individually by each institution after obtaining approval from parents and the Ministry of Education.
Mr Wangenye also called for the immediate release of delayed capitation funds, noting that outstanding government arrears dating back to 2018 remain unpaid and continue to accumulate.
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“I do not support the proposal. Schools have different needs, and any decision to increase fees should be left to individual institutions and parents. What we want to see is the immediate release of capitation. There still arrears that still date back to 2018 and have continued accumulating over the years. We want the ministry to gradually start paying these arrears,” he said.
He further stated that schools requiring additional funding should first present the proposal to parents during an Annual General Meeting (AGM). Upon approval by parents, the proposal should be documented and submitted to the Ministry of Education for consideration before implementation.
The proposed revision to secondary school fees remains subject to consideration and approval by the government. Stakeholders, including parents’ representatives and teachers’ unions, have maintained that addressing delays in capitation disbursement and reviewing government funding levels should take precedence over transferring additional financial obligations to parents.
Pain for Parents as Schools Seek Biggest Fee Increase in Years.
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