Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced on Monday, January 16, that there will be no fees for students enrolling in Junior Secondary Schools.
According to the CS, President William Ruto directed Treasury to set aside Ksh15,000 per student capitation to facilitate free learning in all Junior Secondary Schools.
Machogu added that the government would spend Ksh9.6 billion to keep the programme running.
“No school should charge any fees for Grade 7 learners unless such schools have boarding wings,” Machogu said.
Furthermore, the CS revealed that the government had been paying Ksh22,244 in capitation to secondary schools and Ksh1,420 to primary schools per learner.
“Because Junior Secondary is from Grades 7, 8, and 9, we have worked on a figure that the amount being given to a student be Ksh15,000 almost equal to what is paid for Senior Secondary school learners,” he disclosed.
He also stated that the fees for Grade 7 will not be charged because Kenya’s constitution guarantees free education.
“There will be no school fees payable because this is a constitutional requirement that basic education in primary and secondary schools be free,” he stated.
The ministry has also assured learners that there will be enough teachers to attend to them, even as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to recruit more.
“The TSC is in the process of recruiting 30,000 new teachers majority of whom will attend to learners at the Junior Secondary school level. We assure the country that we have enough teachers and those teachers have been adequately prepared for the same,” the CS reiterated.
