Principals of many schools across the country have asked parents to pay extra school fees that are outside the official guidelines issued by the Education ministry, citing inadequate allocation of funds by the government.
Investigations by the Nation reveal that schools have devised various methods to charge the extra levies and avoid detection by auditors or punishment by the government.
Others have formalised the fees increase by making the parents assent to the changes during annual general meetings.
In some cases, the illegal levies are deposited in accounts separate from the official ones that the MoE deposits money for schools. The levies are also never receipted.
The extra levies the parents are asked to pay are meant to cater for needs such as remedial teaching, commonly referred to as motivation, purchase of school buses and uniforms at controlled outlets, and construction of various facilities in schools.
Going by the fee structures seen by Nation and testimonies by parents, the hidden charges are also not indicated in the school fees structures for learners under full scholarships by county governments, the National Government Constituency Development Fund kitty, and other well-wishers.
For example, a parent at Kagumo Boys High School in Nyeri says last year, the parents paid Sh80,000 in school fees, and Sh12,000 for annual remedial teaching.
“The government’s failure to control and enforce the policy on school fees is hurting parents. In total, last year I paid more than Sh100,000, minus the Sh22,244 government capitation. This amount is unrealistic. We suspect senior education officials collude with school administrations to increase the fees, otherwise why protect the schools as parents suffer and students drop out of school,” said Ms Mumbi Wangui, a parent from Nyahururu town.
Learners at Githunguchu Secondary School in Ndaragua, Nyandarua County, a county secondary, are required to pay the official Sh40,535 annual school fees, but with an additional Sh2,000 for development, Sh1,500 per term for remedial, paid by cash to the school, Sh4,500 for school uniform and Sh300 for students’ ID.
“These hidden charges not tabulated in the fee structure have become a challenge to us. How to do we explain that to auditors? Fees increase and school amounts been paid in different school fees accounts but not indicated in the fees structure is something the Ministry of Education must address,” said Ndaragua MP George Gachagua.
At Leshao Boys High School, an extra-county school, in addition to the Sh40,535 government-approved school fees, the students will have to pay an additional 7,500 for “academic improvement”, Sh4,000 for development and Sh1,000 for a school educational tour, a total of Sh12,500 not included in the school fees structure.
“We were used to paying development funds when the child joined Form One, but it has become a habit to have the development fund imposed every year. The Ministry of Education should audit schools, especially on the issue of development fees. Do we do development projects worth these amounts in schools? We are living in a very harsh economic climate and these fee increments are punitive to parents and learners,” said Jacob Weru, a parent.
The chair of the Senate Education Committee Joe Nyutu said parents countrywide are complaining of the school fees increases.
He said parents are forced to part with additional fees that range between Sh2,000 to Sh18,000 across the school categories, terming it criminal and demanded government vigilance.
"The hikes are being communicated through text messages and in WhatsApp groups. We want the Ministry of Education to ensure that all the warnings it usually gives against school fees hikes are adhered to," he said.
Mr Nyutu accused the Ministry of Education of "deliberately creating inequality in education through enduring the poor continue to struggle to pay school fees".
Nyandarua governor, Kiarie Badilisha, also complained about laxity by the MoE in enforcing the policy on school fees.
“We are in a dilemma when we distribute cheques to learners under full scholarship but we see the parent or guardian visit our offices the following day, yet the amounts they want are not reflected in the fee structure. We feel it’s a waste of resources and the child’s life when we issue a bursary but the child misses classes due to the additional charges. Let all the figures be in the fee structure and be payable to one school bank account,” said the governor.
In Laikipia County, parents accused school principals of sneaking in hidden charges.
While the fee structures issued to learners conform with the MoE guidelines, parents have to dig deeper into their pockets to finance their children’s education.
A parent from St Joseph Tigithi Boys High School said on top of the official Term One fees of Sh20,268, she is required to pay an additional Sh1,500 towards purchase of solar panels, Sh1,200 for remedial teaching and Sh1,000 for bread, yet she has a fees arrears of Sh12,000.
The parent who operates an eatery in Nanyuki town wonders why all those charges are not included in the annual fees structure, some of which are never receipted upon payment.
He said some of the extra charges in some schools have not been properly sanctioned by the Parents Association as per the Ministry of Education regulations or are hurriedly passed during annual general meetings where dissenting voices are tactfully suppressed.
"I have applied to be considered for the NG-CDF and county government bursaries but even if I am lucky, the money isn’t enough and is normally disbursed at the middle of the term when students have already been sent home to collect the fees," lamented a parent whose son is set to join Form Two.
Another parent at Nanyuki Girls Secondary School is expected to pay Sh6,000 for a bus project and Sh1,500 for remedial teaching, on top of the Sh19,893 fees for Term One.
"Besides the usual shopping, I am required to raise a total of Sh27,500 before my daughter is allowed into the school where she will be joining Form Three this January. I am bitter with the bus project since we never agreed to pay money for the project when it was proposed during the AGM but it has been forced on us," said the woman who is second-hand clothes dealer.
Reporting by Waikwa Maina, Mwangi Ndirangu and Mwangi Muiruri
