Parents to pay more for services in schools

By Renson Mnyamwezi

The District Education Board in Taita has approved additional levies for primary and secondary school pupils in the area next year.

Parents will now pay more for services including feeding of their children as well for Information Technology facilities.

The Board, chaired by a senior District Officer David Boen, on Tuesday approved new hefty levies for development, ICT maintenance, lunch programmes, boarding and activity fees, and bus purchase projects.

“Parents discussed the matter and agreed with their school authorities to revise levies to supplement the Government’s efforts to better results in their schools,” said Taita District Education Officer (DEO) Samuel Nyantika yesterday.

He said parents had decided to revise the kind of meals their children in day schools consume and will now pay Sh7,000 per year.

Meals

They will also pay more for food depending on the quality of the menu, the DEO added.

Mr Nyantika said parents will be required to pay Sh1,000 for ICT maintenance, Sh600 for activity fee, Sh200 to go to the development fund, schools education day and insurance for buses. “If parents want to improve the menu of their children it is up to them,” he added.

Last week, parents of Kenyatta National School in Mwatate were forced to increase boarding fees to improve the kind of food being served in the institution in a bid to avert persistent student unrest.

The school had been closed three times this term with students demanding improved meals befitting a national school.

Education stakeholders have blamed drug abuse and indiscipline among students and teachers for poor performance by schools in the region.

Addressing the DEB members in Wundanyi town on Thursday, Nyantika said the State has embarked on sensitisation programmes on the need to encourage parents to support the Government to improve education in the region. “Parents should take the education of their children seriously by paying extra levies."