The CS insists that schools must follow ministry guidelines on fees
By James Wakahiu
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has dismissed claims by secondary school head teachers that schools have been allowed to increase fees from January next year.
The CS said the reports are unfounded and a creation of the media and told parents that they are only supposed to pay the government recommended rates.
Prof Magoha was speaking during Mount Kenya University’s 17th graduation where 5,169 graduands were conferred with degrees and awarded with diplomas and certificates at the institution’s Happy Valley grounds in Thika on Friday.
The CS, who was accompanied by MKU Chairman and Founder Prof Simon Gicharu, warned principals going against the Education Ministry’s set guidelines on fees structures.
“We have not at any time discussed about increasing school fees. That is all a fabrication of the print media and I want them to get it that school heads must adhere and observe the fees guidelines set by the Ministry,” Prof Magoha said.
His stern warning followed media reports which warned parents that they would have had to dig deeper into their pockets if the government yielded to demands by head teachers to increase secondary school fees in January.
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) said that high inflation had pushed the cost of utilities through the roof hence the need to raise the cost of education.
It had also been reported earlier that the Ministry of Education had allowed head teachers to solicit infrastructure funds from parents.
Speaking in Mombasa, KESSHA chairman Kahi Indimuli said most secondary schools are wallowing in debt because the fees paid by students are not enough to run the institutions.
“The fees were set in 2014. The cost of essential things has skyrocketed due to inflation. Fees should be increased to help schools crawl out of the debt crises,” Indimuli said.
But Prof Magoha said no student should be expelled out of school for lacking fees because the government has given free grants through the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) where every student has been factored in.
He called on school boards to ensure the money was utilized well saying he will monitor very closely and any misappropriation will be dealt with accordingly.
He however welcomed moves by some schools to seek for assistance from parents to improve infrastructure but warned that it ought to be voluntary and no student should be expelled for not paying.
Prof Magoha also asked universities not to focus on the number of students enrolled but rather on the quality of education because the practice had eroded standards over the last decades.
“Before a university starts an academic programme, it has to ensure that it has a faculty that is qualified to teach,” said the CS, who also called for the scaling down of universities from 79, a number he said was too high and the reduction of courses offered.
He said the ratio of academic staff should remain at 70 pe rcent and 30 per cent for support staff, and asked students not to enlist for degree courses for the sake of it, but instead pursue relevant courses that will help them in the future.
“Why should university offer a Bachelor’s degree in air conditioning while a student can enroll for such courses in middle level colleges and tertiary institutions,” he asked.
Prof Gicharu echoed the CS’s sentiments saying universities should focus more on research and innovations.
He said that MKU will not open more campuses but will instead concentrate on high quality centers of excellence.
The Patron of the Mount Kenya Foundation announced the setting up of a Sh100 million endowment fund which will be used to sponsor needy cases in the university.
He disclosed that this semester alone, the foundation will spend Sh5 million to facilitate studies of the needy students in all MKU campuses.
“I encourage our alumni as well as our partners to support this initiative because it is really changing and impacting on the lives of needy youths seeking to further their studies,” he said.
