What Kenyan parents invest in their children’s education

Kenyans are spending close to two times their monthly income on school-related expenditures. A study by global payments company WorldRemit shows that for Kenyan families educating their children is an expensive undertaking.

Results of its 2022 Cost of School study show that Kenyan families pay more than 1.75 times of their household monthly income on school supplies.

The study, first launched in 2021, compares the average cost of basic educational needs with average annual incomes and fertility rates to determine the season’s financial impact on families around the world. 

“Parents in countries such as Morocco, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Guatemala all can expect to pay more than 100 per cent of their monthly household income on school supplies this season,” the report reads in part The survey observes how the changing economic environment has affected the true cost of education across 21 markets globally.

Dramatic increase

The study now in its second year shows the dramatic increase in school items illustrates how inflation is hitting homes.

Parents are now lamenting the tight schedule and heavy cost of education due to the accelerated programme to catch up with the time that students spent at home when Covid-19 struck. Judith Okong’o, a graphic designer in Nairobi says they have had to contend with higher prices, especially when students are starting the year.

“Right now it won’t be so hard for people like me who purchased everything in the first term. May be just around Sh2,000 for pocket money. However, next year I know the costs will really be up,” she adds.  

According to publishers, the cost of textbooks has gone up by between 10 and 20 per cent in the past year due to a rise in the cost of paper importation.

A spot-check done in May showed that parents who had their children joining Form One had to spend about Sh20,000 on school accessories. At the time the cost of a dictionary was Sh1,624, Kamusi Sh1,045, Atlas Sh1,183, textbooks ranged between Sh650 to Sh900 and a 96-page exercise book was sold at Sh76. This is alongside mattresses, uniforms and bedcovers.

This year parents were also forced to contend with paying school fees for four terms as the ministry races to catch up with the normal school calendar. The rise in education costs has also been driven by Kenyan parents who are looking for schools that offer more than just education.

Working class

A majority of the working class in the country are now embracing schools where the children will be able to participate in sports or music scholarships abroad, ballet dancing or those that teach new technologies and those that have mastered how to handle children with special conditions such as dyslexia and autism.