Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has vowed to take measures against education officers implicated in the imposition of illegal school fees on parents, amid concerns over the escalating cost of education.
The Education Cabinet Secretary made the pledge on Wednesday during the National Assembly legislative retreat in Naivasha, where MPs pressed the Ministry of Education on the need for tough action against the officers.
The retreat was meant to deliberate on the implementation of the new Competency-Based Education (CBE), but MPs chose to address the issue of escalating fees, expensive uniforms, and other charges in public schools.
The Education Cabinet Secretary admitted the existence of the vice, confessing that some principals and the Ministry of Education officers at the grassroots are in a conspiracy to evade the government’s guidelines on the issue.
“We have quality control officers who are supposed to enforce the Ministry of Education policies. We are going to ensure that our officers enforce the directives,” Ogamba said. “We are also amending the Basic Education Amendment Act, which we will be sending to Parliament.”
The Education Cabinet Secretary also said that new policy guidelines on the issue of school fees, uniforms, and remedial charges are set to be published in the Kenya Gazette this week.
“The gazette notice has already been prepared. It will contain guidelines on everything, including day secondary schools and boarding schools,” he said.
According to the CS, the law does not clearly state how the ministry should handle school heads and teachers who have been involved in the illegal levies. He also noted that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) handles the issue of disciplinary action against the teachers.
The lawmakers did not hold back. Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah attacked the top officials in the ministry. He said they were out of touch with what the parents were going through.
“You have the most clueless PS in the Ministry of Education. He only stays in Nairobi and has no understanding of what happens on the ground. Step out of your offices and go to the field to deal with the real problems,” Ichung’wah said.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang’ula, also got into the act. He said the field officers had not been very effective. He urged the CS to present the planned changes in the policy to Parliament. He said the
