Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has warned Senior School Principals against sending home Grade 10 students without uniforms or school fees.
Speaking on Sunday, January 25, in Kisii County, Ogamba said any principal who sends a student home over uniforms or fees will lose their job.
“We have said, through a directive from the President, that all children transitioning from Grade 9 to Grade 10 must be admitted to school even if they do not have uniforms or school fees. We will sort those issues out.
“Any teacher who sends a child back home, once that child gets home, that teacher should also go home. We will not allow this,” said Ogamba,
The Education CS mentioned that 94% of Grade 10 learners are already in school, while 6% of them are yet to report to school.
Ogamba argued that the number of students yet to report to school is small enough not to stop the schools from operating.
“If you distribute these students across the roughly 7,000 schools available, you find that each school takes in about three or four students.
“A teacher cannot say that because they have a thousand students, taking in three or four who do not have uniforms will prevent the school from operating,” Ogamba stated.
Further, the Education CS said the ministry will resolve the issue of schools overcharging parents for uniforms.
“The issue about uniforms, which schools are charging almost Ksh37,000, will be resolved. The government has a plan, and we are going to address the issue of uniforms,” Ogamba added.
His warning comes after President William Ruto issued a directive aimed at easing the financial burden on parents and ensuring that no child is denied education.
Speaking on Thursday, January 22, he acknowledged reports that some children are missing classes due to lack of school fees or uniforms.
President Ruto emphasized the importance of inclusive access to education, particularly for children from economically challenged households.
“We have been informed that in some schools, many children are not attending classes because their parents lack the money to pay school fees and buy uniforms. I want to direct every chief to ensure that every child goes to school,” he said.
The Head of State also provided guidance on the temporary use of Junior Secondary School (JSS) uniforms, allowing children to continue their education while parents raise funds for proper secondary school uniforms.
“If a child has a JSS uniform, they may use it to attend secondary school while waiting for their parent to raise money to buy a secondary school uniform. I am directing that no child should remain at home because they do not have school fees,” he added.
