Illegal school levies push learners out of school

Students walk back home in Donholm Nairobi. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Illegal school levies are increasingly forcing learners out of school, exposing a widening  gap between the constitutional promise of free and compulsory basic education and the financial realities facing families.

A new survey by the Elimu Bora Working Group found that more than nine in 10 households surveyed either paid an illegal levy in 2025, expected to pay one in 2026 or anticipated paying more than the gazetted school fee.

The survey covered 388 parents, guardians and grandparents across 11 counties—Baringo, Kakamega, Kiambu, Kisumu, Makueni, Mandera, Meru, Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru and Uasin Gishu.

It found illegal charges in every county, school cluster and school category surveyed.

The most immediate concern is the effect on attendance. Nearly half of learners, 45.9 per cent, were occasionally or very often sent home or barred from class because of unpaid levies.

For 17.5 per cent, the practice happened very often.

Day-school learners were particularly affected with the survey revealing that 64.9 per cent of them were sent home or barred from class, compared with 40.5 per cent in boarding schools.

Among day-school learners, 60.6 per cent miss school days because of levies, 51.1 per cent miss examinations or tests, while 48.9 per cent lose motivation to attend school.

Another 42.6 per cent face discrimination over unpaid charges.

The burden is heaviest among poorer households where 61.3 per cent of learners from families earning below Sh10,000 a month are sent home at least occasionally, compared with 23.1 per cent among households earning between Sh30,001 and Sh60,000.

The survey also found that 61.6 per cent of households consider extra levies difficult or impossible to afford, while nearly 37 per cent said they very often borrow money or sell assets to meet the costs.

Remedial tuition and motivation fees affect 49.2 per cent of households, with a median charge of Sh5,000.

Development levies affect 32.2 per cent, also at a median of Sh5,000, although some families reported demands as high as Sh50,000 to Sh60,000.

Development levies were the charges most associated with sending learners home, with 83.3 per cent of affected households reporting such threats.

“A child must not be denied lessons, examinations or the opportunity to complete school because their family cannot pay the illegal levy,” the report stated.

The report further say the problem can also follow learners with cases of schools withholding certificates or refusing to clear students, particularly Form Four candidates, until outstanding illegal charges are paid.

The Elimu Bora Working Group says such practices undermine the constitutional right to education.

“Illegal levies are a barrier to the right to education, and the government must not allow schools to impose them and then punish children for their parents’ inability to pay,” the report said