President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed principals and heads of public schools in drought-stricken areas not to send students home over failure to pay school fees.
Speaking in Kilifi county, President Kenyatta stated that it was illegal for children in such areas to be denied their right to education.
“All our children must be accorded the same opportunity to continue with their studies and it is illegal for any principal or head teacher to send them home because of lack of school fees during this drought season,” he stated.
Kenyatta was addressing Kilifi residents during the launch of development projects in the company of his deputy William Ruto.
At the same time, he stated that the Jubilee government was focused on improving the residents' lives thus called for their support.
In January, President Kenyatta had ordered that food supplies be distributed to schools in the arid areas which would, in turn, be used to meet the cost of school fees for needy students.
This he said was one of the measures of protecting Kenyans from the adverse effects of the ravaging drought which has already been declared a national disaster.
