Illegalities in education perpetrated by teachers

Have you ever been asked to pay interview fees for a child joining Grade One, Standard 8 or Form One in public schools? It is illegal.

According to Basic Education Act, 2013 and Basic Education Regulations, 2015, teachers have for years been flouting the above and many other provisions in laws that govern education in the country.

For example, thousands of parents whose children are transiting from pre-school to primary usually spend a lot of money to allow their children sit entry exams, mostly done during Third Term.

This is illegal according to both the Basic Education Act, 2013 and Basic Education Regulations, 2015.

Section 48 of the Basic Education Regulations, 2015 provides that a learner transiting from pre-primary to a public primary school shall not be subjected to an interview, admission fee or an entry examination except as provided for in Section 34 (4) of the Act.

Section 34 (4) of the Act stipulates that no public school shall administer any test related to admission of a child to a public school or cause a person to administer such test unless such a test is for purposes of placing the child at an appropriate level of education.

The law says no child shall be denied admission in a school or basic education institution for lack of proof of age, though it sets the age of joining Grade One at six.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has called for strict adherence to the provisions of the law guiding basic education in the country: “We give money for Free Primary Education and Free Day Secondary Education to implement the law which says every Kenyan child has a right to free and compulsory education."

Other areas that teachers flout the laws is through levying tuition and holiday fees. The Act defines tuition fees as money charged to cater for instruction or instructional materials.

As a safety precaution, the law requires that each class should have a well-equipped first aid kit while for boarding schools, the distance between beds should be one and a half metres.