The government is looking into allegations that school principals are imposing admission fees for Junior Secondary, contrary to the directive that mandates free admission.
Speaking during the launch of Gilgil Technical and Vocational College in Nakuru, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced that a team of ten units will be deployed to visit schools across the country to investigate the reports.
According to Machogu, their primary task will be to ensure that the transition of grade six learners to Junior Secondary schools occurs without any financial burden on parents.
“In addition to the directive we issued to the county directors of education, we have formed a team that will move around the country to monitor the transition. The team will investigate if any teachers are frustrating the transition by charging parents or making other demands,” Machogu stated.
He said that the government provided sufficient funds for Junior Secondary school learners, disclosing a disbursement of Sh 7.6 billion for this purpose.
Furthermore, Machogu stressed that no parent should be charged for the admission of their children into Junior Secondary schools.
“You gave us Ksh7.6 billion for Junior Secondary, Ksh16 billion for Secondary and Ksh4.7 billion for Primary schools,” he revealed.
“I can assure you that I will not tolerate a few individuals who do not want to follow the directive. Should you be found charging parents for JSS admission, you will have to go home,” the CS declared.
Ruto talks tough on schools
Speaking at a church service in Teso, Busia County, Ruto accused teachers of misleading parents by claiming that the government had not released funds for the year.
He stated that over Ksh60 billion had been disbursed to support learners nationwide, and an additional Ksh10 billion in bursaries had been allocated to assist vulnerable families.
Ruto urged school managers to refrain from demanding extra money from parents, emphasizing that Ksh62 billion had been released to various educational institutions.
“Hear this from me because these people will stop this ill behaviour because the government has disbursed the money…I want to tell those managers in the education sector not to take advantage of parents on false accounts of the government having released no money,” Ruto said.
The President also announced the recruitment of 56,000 new teachers and plans to hire an additional 2,000 teachers for TVET institutions in the coming week.
Ruto’s remarks followed warnings from headteachers about a potential crisis in school operations due to insufficient funds, with the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) stating that only Ksh4,000 per learner had been received instead of the promised Ksh10,000.
KESSHA urged the government to release the entire capitation funds promptly to ensure uninterrupted learning.
