Senators have strongly opposed a proposal by the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) to increase school fees, arguing that it would place an extra burden on parents already struggling with the high cost of living.

Instead, they are pushing for an increase in government capitation to schools to address financial gaps.

School principals argue that rising prices of essential commodities, delayed disbursement of funds, and inadequate government funding have made it difficult for schools to run effectively.

According to their proposal, the current capitation of Sh22,244 per student, which was last reviewed in 2018, no longer meets the financial demands of schools.

“The current capitation of Sh22,244 per learner was last reviewed seven years ago and is, therefore, incongruent with the prevailing economic realities,” the school heads stated in their proposal.

Under their proposed changes, parents with children in national schools would see fees rise from Sh53,554 to Sh73,182 per year, an increase of Sh19,628.

Fees for extra county and county schools would rise from Sh45,554 to Sh68,023 annually. Additionally, principals have suggested introducing charges for students in day schools, requiring them to pay an extra Sh5,372 beyond what the government provides.

Despite these arguments, Senators have rejected the plan, calling on the Ministry of Education to dismiss any attempt to shift the financial burden onto parents.

Instead, they want the government to allocate more funds to schools to match the rising costs of operation.

Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma criticized the failure to review capitation in the past seven years, given the sharp rise in food, utilities, and learning materials.

She urged the Ministry of Education to provide an explanation to the Senate’s Education Committee regarding the delays in disbursements.

Currently, the government provides Sh15,042 per student in Junior Secondary Schools and Sh22,244 for students in free-day secondary schools and national schools.

Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu dismissed the proposal to raise fees, highlighting the struggles parents face due to the high cost of living.

“Parents also have many difficulties because the cost of living in Kenya has gone up and everyone is feeling it,” she said.

“If we increase school fees for secondary schools, what will we be doing to parents and where are they going to get money? We should not add an extra burden to the parents,” she added.

Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogola stressed that the focus should be on addressing delayed disbursements and stagnant capitation, as these are critical issues affecting school operations.

“Increasing the fees when parents are struggling to put food on the table means many poor children will be forced to drop out of schools,” she warned.

With lawmakers standing firm against the proposal, attention now shifts to the Ministry of Education, which must decide whether to increase capitation or leave schools to struggle under current financial constraints.