Several schools charged parents extra school fees without seeking authorisation from the Ministry of Education, a new report shows.

The Auditor General’s for more than 30 schools for the year ending June 2023 reveals parents paid as much as Sh30,000 per child to support various development projects.

Among the schools cited are Mang’u High in Kiambu county, St Mary’s Yala in Siaya, Maseno in Kisumu, Uthiru Girls in Kiambu, Moi Girls Nairobi, Wayam Secondary in Mandera, Maryhill Girls in Kiambu, Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls in Kakamega, and Senior Chief Munguti in Makueni.

The charges violate Government Circular No. MOE.HQS/3/’13/3 of June 16, 2021 on guidelines on implementing free day and secondary education programmes.

Not approved

The rules stipulate that parents will only pay for school uniforms, boarding-related costs as reflected in the boarding fees structure and lunch for day scholars.

Mang’u, for example, charged Sh33,452 per student to support the Parents Association (PA) Support Programme, which had not been approved by the Ministry of Education through the County Education Board.

The school was also cited for irregularities in tuition payments and unsupported payments. An examination of payment vouchers amounting to Sh12.9 million revealed that administrators made payments but did not provide proper support documents such as requisitions, local purchase orders, delivery notes, inspection reports, goods received notes, and certificates of payments.

The report also raises concerns over irregular procurement from operations, infrastructure and boarding, and school fund payments; irregular procurement of a travel agency,and overpayment of domestic subsistence allowance; as well as for having staffing beyond the approved establishment.

The report says, “In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law.”

Fees Structure

With regards to ST Mary’s Yala in Siaya County, the report shows that a review of the school’s fee structure revealed that school fees were adjusted upwards in excess of the fee structure issued by the Ministry of Education, resulting in an irregular increment in annual fees of Sh15,535 per student and cumulatively Sh 36,569,390 in respect to the National Education Management Information System’s (NEMIS) record of 2,354 students. 

 This, the report says, was contrary to the Ministry of Education Circular, which directed that any school that desires to charge amounts above the stipulated fees should make a formal request to the Cabinet secretary. 

 Reads the report: “In the circumstances, management was in breach of the Ministry of Education guidelines on charging additional fees.”

The report has also raised concerns over unsupported boarding accounts—parents’ contribution/fees in the school amounting to Sh131.7 million—as supporting documents, including schedules and student fee receipt statements, were not provided.

 Reads the report: “In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of parent’s contributions/fees school fund account of an amount of Sh131,714,255 could not be confirmed.”

 In the case of Maseno School, the report raises concerns over unapproved fees on PA Support Programme amounting to Sh45.9 million.

 A review of the supporting documents including approved fees structure by the Ministry of Education, the report says did not include the collection in respect to PA development fees.

Further the report says that a review of Board minutes dated November 10, 2022 revealed that each student was required to pay additional Sh18,000 for the construction of a 450 capacity dormitory project. 

“Student enrolment number through Zeraki of 2,938 students, revealed total amount of Sh52,884,000 which is at variance with reported resulting to the unexplained and unreconciled variance of Sh6,971,365,” the report says.

“Further, examination of the records revealed that the school charged an amount of Sh18,000 per student to support the programme [that] had not been approved by the Ministry of Education through the County Education Board.”

Harambee money

 In the case of Uthiru Girls, the report raises concerns over parents’ contributions to a school fund amounting to Sh60,668,093, out of which Sh2.12 million relates to Harambee money.

 A review of records in the report says that a levy of Sh 8,500 was charged to each student payable once for the four years, yet the said levy was not approved by the ministry of education, which is contrary to Regulation 44 of the Basic Education Regulation, 2015, which provides that no person or Board of Management in a public institution of basic education and training shall alter or increase fees without written authority from the Cabinet Secretary. 

“ln the circumstances, management was in breach of the law,” the report says.

With regards to Moi Girl’s Nairobi, the report shows that out of Sh107.7 million in parents’ contributions, Sh30.299 million relates to infrastructure funds charged from parents.

Condition worsened

Although the report says that the institution obtained approval from the Ministry of Education to charge an extra levy of Sh15,000 per child payable per year for a period of one year only to be utilised for the construction of a tuition block with classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and dormitories, it was noted that management did not set up a separate bank account for the collection of the extra charged levies for infrastructure but mixed with school fees paid to support boarding and operational activities. 

Reads the report: “In the circumstances, it is not clear how management reconciled revenues from the various funds since they were not separated for efficient and effective management of collections received.”