“Back to School, But Keep the Old Uniforms You Had!”
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu had a busy Monday, February 6, as he made his rounds, stopping by St. Georges Girls’ High School in Nairobi to set the record straight on the uniform debacle. He had a simple message for secondary school principals: Let form one student report with their old primary school uniforms!
“Flexible Plans for Fashionistas”
Machogu warned against the common practice of schools pushing parents to buy brand new uniforms during admission. He instructed school heads to work with caregivers to make arrangements on how they can purchase uniforms in the course of the term, instead of sending students home in shame.
The Education CS also put to bed rumors that the government had raised school fees for the new academic year. He confirmed that the fees remain the same, set six years ago by the Kilemi Mwiria task force at Ksh53,455 for national and extra-county schools and Ksh45,000 for county secondary schools. And in true Machogu fashion, he added that the fees were flexible and could be split into three terms, instead of being paid all at once.
“Capitation for Schools Already Released”
Machogu confirmed that the government had already released a capitation of Ksh22,244 per student for secondary schools and disbursed Ksh4 billion to primary schools. He warned school heads against demanding any extra funds from parents, promising stern action. The only downside? The Ministry was still waiting on final enrollment numbers to disburse money for junior secondary schools (JSSs).
