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The move by the Ministry of Education to squeeze three academic years into two calendar years is taking its toll on parents’ incomes as they face the daunting task of paying extra school fees every year even as they grapple with a surge in the cost of living.

Annual inflation accelerated to 7.9 per cent in June — from 7.1 per cent a month earlier — to hit the highest level since the 2017 election.

It means parents with school-going children must now contend with the high cost of living and a curriculum that barely gives them time to make enough money to foot school fees and related education bills, such as shopping for supplies and paying for transport costs.

In the last 30 days, parents were required to clear school fees for first term for their children to be allowed to sit their end of term exams. Parents with learners in boarding schools then travelled to pick them up. This week, as children return to school, parents have to shop for essentials and pay fees for a new term, which will be interrupted by elections next month.

Parents who spoke to People Daily’s Business Hub said the financial pain has been worsened by a rise in the prices of school items. The cost of some supplies has nearly doubled due to a global surge in the cost of materials like paper, plastic and clothing materials.

Michael Opiyo, a parent with a child at Ambira High School, said less than 10 days ago he was in school to clear last term’s arrears but is now saddled with a new invoice for the term that starts today.

“The academic calendar this year is really packed and strenuous; we do not even have time to look for money,” said Opiyo.

Since schools resumed in October, Kenyan parents have been paying fees four times a year due to the squeezed academic calendar. Traditionally, an academic year had three terms.

Adelaide Kageha, also a parent, said her son will only be re-admitted to school once she pays full fees estimated at Sh15,500.

“It’s hard if you include revision books and other requirements. Currently, on average, we buy a book at Sh700 and they need like five; then include shopping and pocket money. We are required to part with around Sh20,000 to Sh23,000 and do that in just one week,” she lamented.

Although education is free in public primary schools, many parents still enroll their children in private institutions which have a lower teacher-to-learners ratio.

Economic pinch

Whereas the government provides free textbooks in public schools, parents are asked to buy reference materials such as dictionaries, maps, Bibles, Qurans, geometrical sets, mathematics formulae booklets and English and Kiswahili story books for leisure reading or to boost their vocabulary and communication skills.

Kageha said parents with two pupils in her school will have to spend close to Sh45,000 four times this year (amounting to Sh180,000) to keep their children in school.

The average income of a middle level employee is between Sh25,000 and Sh30,000 a month.

However, it is not only parents who are feeling the economic pinch of the squeezed education calendar. Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KSSHA) chairman Indimuli Kahi recently warned that the cost of running schools had risen drastically and the fees paid by parents — even with capitation by the government — were not enough to sustain students in school.

The government pays Sh22,244 per child in secondary school per year, which is disbursed in three tranches.

School heads now want the government to either review capitation to Sh30,000 for each student or let parents bear the burden of higher school fees. If the government allows schools to charge fees beyond the figures stipulated by the Education Ministry, this will deal a further blow to parents’ incomes.

Over time, Kahi has been calling on the government to increase capitation to meet the rising cost of living due to inflation, which has led schools to spend more on supplies such as food and teaching materials.

“The money is very little compared to the work it is supposed to do,” Kahi has said on several occasions.

He also previously said schools are underfunded yet they need money given the strained academic schedule currently being implemented.

He has also challenged parents to honour their obligation of paying fees on time. According to him, it is critical for the government to continue encouraging parents to pay school fees despite the harsh economic times.

“We, as teachers, are also parents and we know that Covid-19 has interfered with financial flows but the schools must run. It is pointless sending children to school then you do not pay fees and you expect the school to run normally,” he said.

The Ministry of Education has been categorical that public secondary schools should not charge illegal levies.

Last year, the ministry said it had been receiving complaints from parents about schools charging unauthorised fees.

“The Ministry issued new guidelines on fees payable by parents. However, it has been reported that some schools continue to charge fees outside the guidelines leading to dissatisfaction from the parents and guardians,” said the Ministry.

Capitation increase

To make matters worse for parents, schools recover these levies upfront before crediting money paid as fees into the students’ fees accounts. This makes students have false fees arrears, leading to them being sent home.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu said that more focus should be put on increasing government capacitation rather than raising fees.

He also challenged principals to give the government proper data for planning as well as for calculation of capitation as this will reduce the burden of fees on parents.

“Let the school heads not target the parents, the way they are squeezed is the same way parents are facing hard times,” said Oyuu told People Daily on phone.

Section 44 of Basic Education Regulations 2015, provides that no public school or institution shall issue alternative fees structures other than those approved by the Cabinet Secretary.

Section 45 directs that no person or Board of Management in a public institution of basic education and training should alter or increase fees without written authority from the Cabinet Secretary.