The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has opposed yesterday's High Court ruling declaring school levies unlawful, warning that the decision could have serious repercussions on the education sector.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday, June 17, KUPPET Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima argued that barring public institutions from collecting levies would undermine school heads' ability to effectively manage operations.
Nthurima pointed out that delays in the disbursement of government capitation are a major reason why schools turn to parents for additional funds. Without these levies, he said, school administrators would face significant challenges in keeping institutions running.
He further cited the country’s harsh economic climate and rising costs of essential commodities such as food as justification for the additional charges, noting that schools are simply trying to stay afloat amid growing financial pressure.
According to the Nthurima, Section 29 of the Basic Education Act gives school heads and boards the power to demand school levies from parents; however, he stressed the need for them to follow the necessary protocols before charging the levies.
"For schools to provide quality education, there must be money and resources to foot the cost that comes with managing these schools. When principals levy fees, they go through the parents, and of course, they seek authorisation from the Ministry of Education," Nthurima said.
"We cannot run schools without the levies because oftenly there are delays in government in submission of capitation, and Sometimes you find that the pending bills of education is huge, and so that is reason why schools ove and ensure that they levy some money so tat they can help in financing education," he added.
School levies are payments required by schools, often for specific purposes like covering operational costs, infrastructure development, extracurricular activities, money for exams, development projects, lunch programs, or remedial classes.
However, for a long time, complaints from parents have surfaced about the often excessive school levies some public schools demand.
In its ruling on Monday, 16 June, the High Court stated that it will be deemed unlawful for a school to demand levies unless it receives approval from the Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogamba.
In a statement on Tuesday, May 20, the Education boss said that the government will take decisive action against any school head who is found imposing unauthorised levies on parents.
"School heads and principals are directed to ensure prudent use of these public resources entrusted to their care for the benefit of learners and to desist from imposing any unauthorised levies," the CS said.
"As a Ministry, we will deal firmly with any verified cases of misappropriation of resources and the imposition of unauthorised levies," he added.
