If you thought increase in tax and the huge government debt was affecting your lifestyle then buckle up if you are a parent because school heads also want help with sorting their bills.Parents with students in school will have to go slow and cautious this Christmas if they want to afford the new proposed school fees.
Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed asked the National Assembly Committee on Education and Budget for recommendations and they were quick to air their cries.
“The government should consider either increasing fees to account for the rise in the cost of learning or adjust its contribution to provide for the increase in the cost of training,” reads a proposal.
Her action came after vice chancellors proposed a school fees increment of Ksh 32,000 to Ksh 48,000 claiming that the cost of training had gone up.
The university dons stated that they were aware of the consequences but noted that it must be done.
“We know there will be a strike but they will come back and pay. We are prepared if MPs support us,” stated Daniel Mugendi Embu University VC.
Secondary school heads have also proposed a hike in fees to cushion them from harsh economic times.
They claim that the rise in taxation,high water and electricity bills and the rising basic minimum wage for support staff have affected the schools’ operations.
Indimuli yesterday said feedback from the 9,000 secondary school heads reveals that the institutions are struggling to sustain operations, pushing some to debts. He said schools are not under electricity home billing tariff, claiming that high power bills hit the institutions every month.
The meeting was attended by university education stakeholders including Chairman of the Commission for University Education Chacha Nyaogotti and Chief Executive Mwenda Ntagarwi.
Representatives from HELB, Kenya Universities Funding Board, and University Colleges Central Placement Service were also present.
They pleaded to the legislators that the formula developed in 1989, that set the amount at Ksh 16,000 is no longer sustainable.
The heads also claim that the support staffs are not covered under any medical plan, putting schools administration under strain. The plea comes as Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang released a circular affirming the fees payable in schools by parents.
In the circular guiding Free Day Secondary Education, Kipsang says the government will continue to send Sh 22,244 per child per year to cater for free day secondary education.
Kipsang said the cost of boarding schools will be capped at Sh 75,798. Parents with children in boarding schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret will pay a maximum of Sh 53,554 after the government settles the balance.
Those with children in boarding schools in other areas will pay a maximum of Sh 40,535. Special schools will only pay Sh 12,790 as the government pays Sh 57,974. Day schools will be free for all students with parents required to buy uniforms, lunch and foot boarding related costs as reflected in the approved fees structure and also clear fees balances.
Do you think parents will agree to the school heads proposal?