Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has ordered for action to be taken against more than 200 secondary school principals who were caught flouting order on hiking fees.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has thus been directed to decide the fate of the school heads who were found guilty of charging the parents exorbitant fees.
On Wednesday, August 11, the TSC sent letters to the aforementioned school principals demanding responses to the increased school fees against the regulations by the Education Ministry as well as an explanation of poor performance from primary schools.
High school teachers who are yet to enact the new fee guidelines could be in hot soup after the TSC issued show-cause letters to principals found breaking the guideline.
According to KTN, many schools are charging higher fees based on old circulars while some schools are charging additional levies that are not contained in the government circular.
However, many learning institutions are using an old circular that set on stone the annual fees for the parents at Ksh53,000. In the new circular the schools under category A being National and extra-county schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri Thika, and Eldoret were to charge Ksh45,000 following uproar from parents.
Schools under category B schools; schools in other parts of the country apart from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri Thika, and Eldoret were directed to charge learners Ksh35,000 under parental obligation. Those regulations were ignored by school heads.
Kisii School, Nakuru Girl’s High School, Mbita High, Nyaburuu Girls’ High, St Georges Girls’ Sec. School, Kathiani Girls High School, Kakamega High School, Moi Kapsowar Girls High School, and Ofafa Jericho High School charged students Ksh53,554, which is against the new directive that put fees at Ksh45,000.
Schools such as Nginda Girls, Karangare Sec. School and Nyamira Boys High, which were meant to charge parents Ksh35,000 retained the old fees circular that charged parents Ksh40,535.
Other schools like Murang’a High and Sironga Girls’ High charged parents more than the old school curriculum. The two schools asked parents to part with Ksh63,900 and Ksh55,554 respectively.
In a letter to all schools, Education Principal Secretary Paul Kibet stated that school heads will be liable to consequences for charging students more than the government had set.