TSC directors to be liable for high fees, Matiang’i says

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said as from next year, all school fee structures will be vetted and certified by the officers.PHOTO: COURTESY

County directors of education will now be punished for schools charging higher fees under their watch.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said as from next year, all school fee structures will be vetted and certified by the officers.

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee, Dr Matiang’i seemed to fault the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for inaction, which has seen schools charging higher fees.

The CS told the MPs that the ministry has been informing TSC of schools charging fees outside the set guidelines but no action was being taken.

“As you know, employment of teachers is handled by an independent commission called TSC. I have written to the commission on those particular schools and head teachers,” said Matiang’i.

He, however, said the ministry will continue gathering data with the hope that TSC will act.

GUIDELINES IGNORED

“We will keep gathering this information. This will again help us track and compile as many schools as possible and share it with the TSC. I would like to believe that our colleagues at the commission will act on cases presented to them,” he said.

Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando tabled a list of 10 schools that he said were arbitrarily charging high fees.

He cited Nyeri High School at Sh85,200, Nakuru Girls Sh71,995 and Nairobi School, which was charging Sh90,000.

Others schools listed are: Mang’u High (Sh98,000), Meru School (Sh92,000), Sing’ore Girls (Sh80,000), Buru Buru Girls (Sh91,933), Kisumu Girls (Sh91,000), Rae Girls (62,812) and Karima Girls at Sh88,600).

“These are just a sample of the arbitrary increases where the gazetted guidelines are ignored,” said Mr Kabando.

The Education ministry has been struggling to implement the 2015 circular that caps fees for day schools at Sh9,374 per year.

The circular released in February and whose implementation was backdated to January 2015 sets boarding school fees at Sh53,553 per year.

Boarding fees alone was pegged at Sh32,385. Fees for special schools are expected to be Sh37,210 annually.

The rates were arrived at after deducting the Government subsidy of Sh13,000 per child, per year.

The MPs suggested that the ministry creates one central desk where all schools will deposit their fees structure for scrutiny.