Parents at liberty to buy uniforms: CS

The government has directed that parents and guardians must have the liberty to source school uniforms from any distributors of their choice.

Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, also issued directives that fees for public boarding schools remain unchanged and warned against extra levies being imposed on parents.

Machogu said the Ministry has issued instructions on uniforms, noting that it is not the responsibility of principals to purchase and bring it to schools and then parents are required to pay a certain amount.

He said parents should be given freedom to buy the uniform anywhere as long as it meets specifications of respective schools.

“We know what has been happening with the school uniform, where people have been making business out of it. Let the parents know that the uniform that is required for their children as they come to Form One. It is not the responsibility of principals to transact business because that will amount to conflict and again it is not upon him to make arrangements to direct parents to go to specific shops,” the CS stated.

He said the Ministry is committed to ensuring parents and guardians with learners joining Form One are not overburdened with unnecessary requirements that have extra financial implications.

Schools, he said, have been asked to provide specifications of their uniform, which include design, quantity required, and colour or shade and this will empower parents to make choices that suit their budgetary constraints.

School fees constitutional

Similarly, Machogu said school fees is a constitutional matter and should be enforced to the letter because education must be accessible to all Kenyans.

He warned Regional and County Directors against allowing circulars that are contrary to the Constitution, which allow for incorporation of extra levies.

“I am able to get information from every part of the country because we have a structure of Regional, County and Sub County Directors of Education, who will ensure that we enforce this and all Principals should get this message in a clear manner…County and Sub County Directors, please get me right,” said Machogu.

He also urged the directors to be on the look out for any school, might it be a National, Extra county, County or any other having enhanced school fees, because the joining instructions are clear.

“Regional and County Directors role is to ensure that no principal levies anything additional. For any monkey business, information will come to me so kindly ensure that every school observes this. Even parents are undergoing financial challenges and unless there is an express authority from my office, which again will not be there, the first victim will be you,” he warned.

Education programmes

He was speaking at Lenana School, where Regional and County Directors of Education were meeting to be appraised on implementation of education programmes at the field offices as well as release of the Form One placement exercise.

The CS said the Government upholds its commitment to providing Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) grants per learner, which include allocations for tuition and operational expenses.

Schools will continue to receive funds based on accurate enrolment data submitted by principals through the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), with Machogu urging all principals and Boards of Management (BoMs) to prudently use funds for their intended purposes.

“This strategic utilisation will not only propel towards achieving a 100 percent transition but also contribute to the enhancement of the learning environment, ensuring the realisation of the fundamental right to education,” said Machogu.

Learners in National and Extra county schools pay Sh53,000 while fees for county schools is Sh45,000.

As parents pay Sh53,000 for those joining Form One, the  Government tops up the remainder of Sh22,244.

For other categories including County and Sub-County Schools, parents pay Sh40,535 while the government tops up with Sh22,244 for each learner to give an annual fee of Sh62,779.

For special needs schools, the government provides an enhanced capitation of Sh57,974 per learner, which includes a subsidy of Sh23,220 per learner for boarding equipment and stores and a top up grant of Sh12,510 per learner to cater for assistive devices and any additional personnel needed.

The CS has also said that scholarships will be awarded to vulnerable and marginalized learners from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, who attained 280 marks and above in the 2023 KCPE.

For affirmative action, candidates with special needs and disabilities who attained below 280 marks will be eligible.

Refugee learners from camp-based schools, who attained 240 marks (girls) and 250 marks (boys) will also benefit from tand this will bring the number of scholarships provided by the Government to vulnerable and marginalized learners since 2020 to 52,000.

The demand for the Government scholarship support under the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) and the Kenya Primary Education Equity and Learning (KPEEL) programmes has continued to increase annually since 2020. He stated that the increasing demand has to be addressed to avoid further disparities in access to secondary education and urged other partners in the sector to step in and provide scholarships to needy learners to ensure 100 per cent transition policy is achieved and leave no child behind in the education system.