Parents of children in boarding schools will have to dig deeper into their pockets to finance it after the government stopped the subsidy fee program introduced in the calendar year 2021 and issued new fee guidelines for 2023. their children’s education.
Parents with children enrolled in all national and additional district schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret will pay a total of Ksh 53,554 per year, up from Ksh 45,000 from 2021 onwards. Instructions issued on November 15, 2022 by Dr. Julius Jwan, Secretary of State, Department of Early Learning and Basic Education.
Instead of the current Ksh 35,000 per year, parents whose children attend boarding schools and County Additional schools in other areas now pay Ksh 40,535.
However, the government will subsidize each boarding school student the same amount (Ksh 22, 244) as each day school student.
This means that for education (tuition, learning resources and exams), the government has provided Ksh 4,144; medical expenses/insurance (Ksh 2000); activities (Ksh 1,500); and Ksh 200 is allocated to strengthen mathematics and science in secondary education (SMASSE).
In addition, Ksh 5,000 is provided for other sound drivers such as maintenance and upgrades (local travel and transport, electricity and staff allowances (Ksh 9,400)).
From January next year, parents of children in special needs schools will pay an average of Ksh 12,790 instead of Ksh 10,860, with the government subsidizing Ksh 53,807 per student.
The grant includes Ksh 19,053 for party supplies and equipment, as well as an additional grant of Ksh 12,510 for assistive technology and additional staff as needed.
The Ministry stated that the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) will be used to provide government subsidies to all public schools on December 15, 2022, March 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023.
The government previously provided financial support for parents’ fees for the 2021-2022 academic year, although it will only last 30 weeks instead of the usual 39.
The normal January-December school calendar, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 and led to the closure of schools for more than a year, is expected to return to normal in January 2023.
According to the Ministry’s latest school calendar, primary, elementary and secondary schools will begin on January 23, 2023 and end 13 weeks later on April 21, 2023.
The first term will end with a two-week break from April 22 to May 2, 2023, after a three-day half term break from March 23 to March 26.
May 8 marks the start of the second term, which ends on August 11. From June 29 to July 2, students will have a three-day half-term break, followed by a two-week holiday. From August 12 to August 27.
The third term will begin on August 28 and run until November 3, 2023.
