Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Monday, January 30, asserted that schools should not ask for any kind of payment from the parents enrolling their children in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
Speaking during a tour of Nairobi Primary school, Machogu stated that the government expected a 100 per cent transition of pupils to JSS because it had already disbursed the capitation for the same to schools.
Machogu noted that some parents had issued complaints that they could not enroll their children in Grade 7 because of expenses demanded by schools.
"In Kenya, JSS is both free and compulsory. There is no money to pay for registration, and there are no unnecessary levies as registration fees,” Machogu stated.
Moreover, the CS addressed concerns regarding study materials for Grade 7 pupils stating that parents would not have to incur the cost of buying the books.
According to Machogu, the government will distribute all required textbooks to institutions across the country by February 17.
He, however, noted that private schools will have to purchase their own textbooks and other learning materials
Additionally, the CS stated that books from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) list were not meant to be used in the different subjects.
"We've established when our JSS students should be at school; the regular school calendar runs from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM.
“The curriculum should be sufficiently covered without subjecting children to mental torture," Machogu stated.
On the matter of purchasing school uniforms, the Education CS announced that parents were free to purchase the uniforms from any distributor of their choice.
"We don't expect kids to be sent away because of uniforms. There will be no requirements from specific shops, parents will be able to shop wherever they want," Machogu reiterated.
Parents were urged to purchase the uniforms as soon as the respective schools notified them of the required colour and type of uniforms.
Earlier during the launch of the distribution of the textbooks, on Friday, January 27, Machogu directed all school heads to report to the Sub-County offices by March 29, to follow up on the distribution of the books.
Machogu further cautioned students and schools against destroying the books noting that replacements would be made in 2027.
