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How school principals are making up to Sh 20M during Form 1 admissions

Authors:

Miriam Mwende

Making a kill out of unsuspecting parents

Parents and students during the Form 1 admission process at a Kenyan secondary school (Twitter)

School principals have been exposed for charging extra fees despite a set guideline on the fee structure for public secondary schools.

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According to the report, unsuspecting parents of Form 1 students are the ones who are bearing a heavier burden in the illegal fees scheme.

One category B school in Kakamega county has been reported to be making close to Sh20 million through the illegal charges.

Form 1 parents are paying Sh53,554 in the school that should charge them Sh40,535 annually.

A Form 1 student being escorted to school (Twitter)
A Form 1 student being escorted to school (Twitter) Pulse Live Kenya

Extra Charges not Listed on Fee Structure

"We are unhappy about the charges. Older parents are telling us they have never seen the school magazine despite paying Sh400 per child annually for the magazine, which is not recorded in the fee structure," one parent complained.

The Sh10,000 overcharge has been imposed on all parents in the school that has a student population of 1,440.

The charge is also being masked as teachers' motivation which is also not indicated on the fee structure but only communicated verbally.

"We also pay Sh7,500 a year as motivation fees for teachers," the parent added.

A parent purchasing a box for a Form 1 student (Twitter)
A parent purchasing a box for a Form 1 student (Twitter) Pulse Live Kenya

Government Subsidy

The government is currently giving a Sh22,244 subsidy for the education of each secondary school student which completely covers teaching and learning materials and medical insurance and partly covers activity fees, travel, personal emolument, administration costs and other fees.

Some school principals have duplicated the costs covered completely by the government to further make money out of the unsuspecting parents.

Authors:

Miriam Mwende

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