State starts to effect school fees report

The Government has started implementing the recommendations of the School Fees report, with a stern warning to school heads to exercise wise management of resources.

In a circular released by Education PS Belio Kipsang, schools will be expected to strictly adhere to financial regulations as detailed in the handbook of Financial Management for Secondary Schools and Colleges and the Public Finance Management Act.

The PS says all schools must promote social audit by stakeholders such as parents, teachers, non-teaching staff and students, to enhance transparency and accountability on the use of public resources.

All schools shall also be required to submit annual financial reports on quarterly basis to the County Directors of Education, Sub-county Directors of Education and the Head of School Audit Unit.

SCHOOL RANKING

In a firm directive to 12 senior government officials from the Cabinet secretary to all chairpersons of county education boards, the PS has also abolished ranking of schools and students during the release of national examination results.

The circular says performance of schools shall constantly be reviewed and be based on merit.

All schools have also been advised to have uniforms that suit the local weather patterns.

"They should have uniforms suited for local weather conditions. Clothing for other purposes, such as physical education, technical and applied subjects should be simple and universally available," it states.

Procurement of schools uniforms will be subject to open tendering, with strict adherence to the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005.

All secondary schools shall henceforth be classified as private or day.

 SCHOOL CATEGORISATION

"For the purposes of disbursing government grants, all public schools shall be classified as either day or boarding, whereas for the purposes of Form One admission and management, public schools shall be categorised into National, Extra, County, Sub-County and Special Needs," reads the circular dated November 24, 2014.

The Government has also directed that all schools registered as day schools shall not be converted into boarding schools, unless prior approval is granted by the Cabinet secretary.

Teachers Service Commission has also been instructed to conduct a teachers' rationalisation exercise to ensure 'equitable distribution' of the existing staff. The document also sets the number of non-teaching staff in schools.