Fresh storm over 'hidden costs' of primary education

By JOHN OYWA

The boy jumped over a trench and disappeared into a dark allay in Mombasa’s sprawling Kibarani slums.

He emerged moments later, carrying assortment of used plastic bottles retrieved from a dumpsite.

Dressed in an oversize shirt and trousers, the boy’s presence in the slum that Wednesday morning was unusual as his age mates were in school.

Confronted by a team of education experts on a fact-finding mission at the Coast Province, the boy who identified himself as Azis, did not mince his words. "Nimefukuzwa shule. Sijalipa fees (I have been sent away from school. I have not paid the fees), he said.

Aziz attends a public school and his widowed mother could not raise the Sh100 wanted by the institution for remedial classes. But why was he sent home when the Government has been offering free primary education has since 2003?

The encounter with Aziz, was just a tip of the iceberg as Education found out in subsequent investigations.

First batch

Although the country celebrated the graduation of the first batch of the free primary education beneficiaries last week, questions have arisen over whether education in public schools is actually free. A new report by Community Initiatives Action Group (Ciag-K) and Elimu Yetu Coalition, says public school administrators were ruining the free education programme by charging illegal levies. It says many children, like Aziz are out of school across the country because of hidden costs of education in public schools.

The survey Hidden Costs of Kenya’s Free Primary Education, takes a critical look at the implications of the "small levies" charged by school administrators which had become too costly for poor parents, especially those living in slums.

Although piloted in Kisumu municipality and its environs, it reflects the situation in many parts of the country where parents have been questioning the implementation of the free education.

The report says the school enrolment that boomed at the start of the free schooling in 2003 is falling because of dropping out by pupils whose parents and guardians cannot raise the levies.

As a senior education official with the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid), Dr Wambui Gathenya, observed during a recent tour of the Coast province, the children are not actually dropping out of school but are "pushed out" by various factors.

Successes

Ciag-K director, Crispin Owala says the survey was necessitated by frequent complains by parents that schools were introducing too many levies. He said the school drop out rate was likely to rise because of the hidden costs of education.

"The Free Primary Education programme has scored a number of successes by ensuring increased access to schools with enrolment standing at over 8.2 million children, nationwide. The book to pupil ratio is, on the average, at 1:2 in upper primary and 1:3 in lower primary in majority of the schools in the country," says Owalla.

But he says a closer examination of the concrete experiences in the Kisumu Municipality reveals that the programme has fallen far short of its goals and objectives.

"The data we obtained from schools confirm that despite the initiative, not all children are enrolled in public schools in the municipality. It is thus imperative that education stakeholders investigate the circumstances surrounding such scenarios; particularly in regards to the cost of primary education," he says.

According to the report all public schools in Kisumu charge admission fees ranging between Sh200 to Sh2,000 for new pupils. New entrants also buy their own desks and books. In some schools new pupils pay Sh200 for an interview.

One school with more than 1,000 pupils has been charging Sh50 for the PTA per pupil per year totalling to Sh50,000 and a further Sh50 activity fee per pupil per term.

Nyanza Provincial Director of Education, Mr Geoffrey Cherongis confirms he has received complaints on the illegal levies and said those involved will be severely punished.

"We have launched investigations and will take action against teachers sending away pupils. We have only been waiting for the KCPE to end so that we can take action," he tells Education.

But Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) national governing council member, Tom Olilo defends teachers saying all the levies charged on pupils are always approved by parents.

"The truth is that no teacher would wake up one morning and charge new levies. They always meet with parents who approve it. The problem is that a few parents later change their minds," says Olilo.

"In many cases, it is the parents who ask for the remedial for their children. They are the ones who agree to pay the teachers."

The Ciag-K report says nearly all the schools sampled are charging between Sh50 and Sh150 tuition fees per term and between 20 and Sh50 for mock examinations per term. "One public school even charged Sh300 per pupil for a school party," says the report.

Head teachers blame delays in disbursement of funds for the fees.