Principals push for Sh 43,000 increment of school fees: See how this affects you

Secondary school principals during the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa, have proposed an increase in public school fees in what they allege to be efforts to cope with the rising inflation, high operational costs and the chronic delay from the government when it comes to fund disbursement.  

The conference officially kicked off on Monday and is set to complete on Friday 26, in Mombasa, bringing together over 7,000 secondary school principals from across Kenya.

The proposal, presented during the conference in Mombasa, seeks to review fees that have remained unchanged since 2015. 

National Schools: Proposed fee of KSh 87,781 (up from KSh 53,554). Principals state the actual unit cost has risen to KSh 110,025.

Extra-County & County Boarding Schools: Proposed fee of KSh 83,622 (up from KSh 40,535).

Day Schools: Proposed fee of KSh 7,675 (currently free under the Free Day Secondary Education program)

KESSHA National Chairman Willy Kuria said the current funding framework no longer reflects the realities facing schools and demanded immediate change in the school fees structure.

“The current fees charged in secondary schools were set in 2015, about 11 years ago. It is therefore no longer possible to sustainably run our institutions under the existing framework,” Kuria said.

Runaway Inflation: The cost of basic commodities, food items, and learning materials has surged since the current fee guidelines were established in 2015.

Delayed Capitation: Schools are struggling under severe deficits because government capitation (currently targeted at KSh 22,244 per learner) is routinely delayed and often falls short of the actual disbursed amount.

Curriculum Demands: Additional funding is required to meet the operational costs of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework.

According to the school heads, food remains one of the biggest cost drivers in boarding institutions, with the prices of essential commodities rising sharply over the past decade.

“The movement in the price index of goods and services between 2015 and 2026 reflects a substantial increase in the general cost of living and, by extension, the cost of running educational institutions,” Kuria explained.

The principals further defended this proposal, that depreciation of the Kenyan shilling and the increase cost in educational resources have widened the gap greatly between government funding and actual school expenditure.

They also pointed to the implementation of Competency-Based Education (CBE), saying the expanded curriculum has increased demand for specialised equipment, laboratories, and teaching materials.

School heads noted that subjects such as music, electricity, home science, theatre and film require additional investment in equipment, yet existing funding allocations remain inadequate.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) backed the concerns, warning that delays in capitation disbursement have disrupted school operations.

Beyond the administrative and political debate, the proposed fee hikes signal a looming crisis for Kenyan households. 

For families already stretched thin by the rising cost of living, an additional KSh 34,000 to KSh 43,000 per child could force difficult trade-offs between education, healthcare, and basic nutrition.

Parents with multiple children in secondary school face a compounded burden, potentially requiring them to take on high-interest loans or deplete long-term savings just to keep their children in class.

For low-income earners and those in the informal sector, these figures are not just numbers; they represent a significant portion of their annual income, threatening to widen the education gap and derail carefully planned household budgets across the country.

The Ministry of Education had previously and still strictly maintains that any unapproved fee hikes are illegal. 

The Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba had warned that principals who levy unauthorized charges outside of gazetted guidelines face disciplinary measures, and has called for increased parliamentary allocations to cover the current funding deficits instead of passing the burden to parents.