CS Ogamba Clarifies on the Amount of Fees Parents Will Pay Ahead of School Openings

With schools set to reopen in less than a week, confusion over day secondary school fees has been spreading, following claims that parents may have to pay more than the usual amount.

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro had raised concerns, saying a government guideline given to principals in November reportedly included an extra Ksh.9,374, suggesting parents would bear this additional cost. He warned that this could significantly increase the financial burden on families.

However, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has firmly clarified that school fees remain unchanged. According to the CS, the government will continue supporting Free Day Senior School learners with Ksh.22,244 per student per year, as outlined in the 2019 circular. No school is allowed to charge beyond this limit.

CS Ogamba also confirmed that a new directive will be issued by Friday to clear all confusion and ensure that fee structures are properly aligned.

Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about delays in teacher recruitment for Junior Secondary School interns, with lawmakers and former CS Dr. Fred Matiangi urging the government to prioritize absorbing these teachers to ease pressure on schools.

Parents and stakeholders now await the official circular from the Ministry of Education, hoping it will settle disputes just before the new term begins.

To quell the speculation, CS Ogamba announced that a new directive is imminent. “In order to put this matter to rest, we are going to issue another circular by this Friday just to clarify so that there is a clean alignment and there is no more room for speculation on whether school fees have been raised or not. We are working on that, and it will be ready by Friday this week,” the Cabinet Secretary confirmed.