Parents have raised concerns over failure by Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission to protect them from exploitative illegal charges by primary school Headteachers as they try to enrol their children in junior schools across the country.
The parents who spoke to Education News, shared their frustration, and wondered why both MoE and TSC are silent when they are made to pay upto Ksh 15,000 per year in day public junior schools.
“We should be made understand about this punitive charges when the same government says every junior school learner is entitled to capitation,” lamented Benard Angolo, a parent at one of the schools in Western Kenya.
The same complains have been raised in North and south Rift regions where some headteachers and Board of management are said to be colluding to levy parents with exploitative charges that contravene Ministry of Education guidelines on fees payments.
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“In our school, the headteacher compels every learner who joins junior school to pay for a locker without which they lose the vacancy to learn in the school,” said Nimrod koech, a parent from Kapsabet town.
Education News has established that many learners in junior schools have continued to miss lessons as they are always on the road going back home to look for the levies. The situation is claimed to have led to increase in learner school drop out in most regions in the country.
The parents said that they have had enough tribulations that should stop or otherwise they demonstrate to their respective Education office so that their plight can be heard.
Efforts by Education News to reach out on some Education offices were not fruitful as some reports indicated that they were out in the field for various activities related to students scholarships.
By Naboth Murunga
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