Wilson Sossion opposes DP William Ruto's directive on school fees

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has opposed Deputy President William Ruto's directive on school fees.

Sossion argued that the amount of money schools charge is not generated by the principals but by parents through Parents Teachers Association (PTA), depending on the institution's needs and priorities.

The Knut official said most of the money collected by the schools goes towards paying the extra teachers hired by the institutions.

Sossion urged school heads to ignore the DP's 'roadside directive' since political statements should not be allowed to destroy education. "Major schools cannot be forced to run on Sh50,000 per student as schools fees. For instance, national schools in Kericho such as Kipsigis Girls and Kibianga High School hire 24 and 30 teachers respectively. Where are such schools supposed to get the money to pay the teachers. It must come from school fees," he said.

He added: "Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi must tread carefully on the directive lest learning in many schools grinds to a halt."

Sossion was speaking during the official opening of Kebeneti Secondary School in Soin/Sigowet constituency, Kericho County. He was accompanied by MPs Justice Kemei (Soin/Sigowet) and Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills).

Keter also defended school heads, saying the Government was to blame for the skyrocketing school fees. "The number one cause of the high cost of school fees is State. If it doesn't address under-staffing in schools, then it doesn't have any business lecturing school principals, who have hire at least 10 teachers," he said.

Sossion said the best move the CS should have taken would have been to convince the Government to employ 100,000 teachers. "As long as there is a shortage of teachers and other basic facilities, the cost of school fees would not dramatically reduce and school heads cannot be put to account," he said.

He nonetheless said the union would not mind the schools complying and using the 2013 fees level.

Sossion lamented that the education sector is suffering due to lack of proper leadership and political interference.

He blamed Kaimenyi for allegedly being behind the downward spiral of the education sector, saying the CS should be relieved of his duties. "The admission of Form One students was completely messed up. Now the ministry's directive is that pupils below 14 years cannot register for KCPE examination. What is wrong with registering a pupil if he or she is brilliant?" He asked.

He added that the North Eastern teachers' issue had overwhelmed the CS and they were not going to sit anymore and watch the education sector go to the dogs.