- MPs have proposed a Sh1 million fine or a three-year jail term for school administrators who have charged illegal fees, under the Basic Education Bill 2026.
- Parliament has introduced fresh penalties targeting parents who have failed to enrol children and anyone who has barred a child from school over cultural, religious or employment reasons.
- The Bill seeks to outlaw corporal punishment entirely and establish County Education Boards to oversee education delivery in all 47 counties.
School administrators who impose illegal fees on parents will risk a Sh1 million fine or up to three years in prison under a new Bill before Parliament, as MPs move to crack down on unauthorised levies plaguing public schools.
The punitive measure is contained in the Basic Education Bill 2026, now before the National Assembly, and follows recommendations from a team appointed by President William Ruto to overhaul the education sector. The proposed law targets school officials who flout free tuition provisions, replacing years of policy warnings with concrete penalties.
The Bill states that any person who breaches the fee provisions “commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or to both.”
Under Clause 12, public schools will be barred from levying any charges without approval from the Cabinet Secretary. Institutions that flout this face the Sh1 million fine, while their administrators risk a three-year jail term. Non-Kenyan citizens, however, may still be required to pay fees.
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Response to mounting parent complaints
The proposed penalties come amid growing complaints from parents and education stakeholders over a widening range of “extra” charges, including remedial fees, motivation fees and development levies — that schools have used to supplement their income.
The Bill also closes a loophole that has seen thousands of children turned away over unpaid levies for uniforms, building funds and school trips, explicitly stating that “no child shall be barred from attending school because of failure to pay” unauthorised charges.
Currently, no law exists to directly punish teachers for imposing illegal fees; the Teachers Service Commission bears the responsibility for disciplining principals over unauthorised fee structures. In some instances, the Education ministry has resorted to dissolving school boards of management over inflated charges.
Penalties for parents, teachers who bar children from school
The Bill also introduces consequences for parents. Guardians who fail to enrol their children will be deemed to have committed an offence, facing fines of up to Sh100,000 or a year in prison. Headteachers will be required to investigate cases where a child is absent from school.
Anyone found preventing a child from attending school over employment, religious, cultural or parental-conflict reasons faces a steeper penalty — a Sh5 million fine or five years in prison.
Corporal punishment outlawed
In a move likely to revive debate on school discipline, the Bill outlaws corporal punishment entirely, along with torture and other forms of cruel or degrading treatment. Teachers found administering physical punishment face fines of up to Sh200,000 or a year in prison for first-time offenders. Schools will be required to adopt alternative disciplinary measures, with the Cabinet Secretary empowered to set guidelines, including the option of referring severely indisciplined learners to correctional schools.
Beyond fees and discipline, the Bill establishes County Education Boards in all 47 counties, chaired by county commissioners and comprising representatives from teachers’ unions, parents’ associations, religious bodies and persons with disabilities. Every public school will have a Board of Management appointed by its county board.
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The legislation also bars public schools from administering admission tests to screen applicants, a practice some schools have used to keep out learners from oversubscribed institutions and gives parents whose children are denied admission the right to notify the county education board.
Other provisions establish the Kenya Institute of Special Education as a body corporate with expanded functions in teacher training and assistive-device production, alongside county-level assessment and resource centres for learners with special needs. A new Kenya Education Management Information System will maintain a centralised database of learners, institutions and scholarship beneficiaries.
Private schools will be required to register under the new law, with unregistered institutions facing closure and operators liable to fines of up to Sh20 million or three years in prison. The Bill would repeal the existing Basic Education Act, transferring assets, liabilities and staff to the new institutional structures it creates.
By Masaki Enock
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