Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has directed school heads to admit all students seeking to join Form One so as to ensure 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school is achieved.
Speaking at Nyeri High School, where he monitored the reporting of Form Ones, he said schools should not turn away children because they lack one or two items.
“The reporting of Form Ones across the country is going on well and I am pleased that this school is taking in all the children, including those that come from a poor background,’’ he said.
Noting complaints from parents about school uniforms, the CS said that students who report to school with uniforms bought from stores not recommended by the school should be admitted.
“The complaints have been rife and it is important for the principals to have a human face on this one… whereas you might prefer uniforms to be bought from certain stores, any child who got the exact uniform you want must be allowed to join the school,” he said.
“We should go further, if you have a diligent student from a very poor background and is definitely getting the scholarship, that child should be admitted.”
Prof Magoha spoke even as parents complained that the prices of various items were too high and asked the ministry to intervene.
“Most of us have struggled to raise money to buy items and pay fees for our children because the cost of living is too high,” said Ms Lucy Gathoni, a parent at Chuka High school in Tharaka Nithi County.
Mr Daniel Mati, another parent, urged school administrators to allow parents to pay fees in instalments because most of them cannot pay it all at once.
“I now have three children in big schools and I am required to pay almost Sh100,000 per term which is very hard to get,” said Mr Mati.
At Kerugoya Boys Secondary School in Kirinyaga, parents also complained about high costs of uniforms and learning materials.
"Educating children these days is very expensive," one of the parents said.
Prof Magoha noted that the number of children joining school had increased by 10 per cent, indicating that the government’s policy on having every child in school is working.
He noted that a majority of students awarded scholarships come from families that can afford to pay tuition fees.
“I plead with the legislators to identify children from poor backgrounds who have been admitted to good schools through affirmative action so that these children do not drop out of school just because the fees are high,” he said.
