Owino Opondo, Benard Namunane and Odhiambo Orlale
9 August 2007
Nairobi — Parliament urged the Government to establish an education levy fund from which secondary school students from poor families will draw fees.
Twenty MPs unanimously passed a motion by Kerugoya/Kutus MP Daniel Karaba (Narc) which sought the establishment of the fund aimed to prevent students from poor families from dropping out of school.
Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria told members that the Government was determined to ensure as many students as possible had access to affordable education.
Educate Kenyans
Dr Mwiria listed free primary education, bursary scheme and planned tuition waiver in public secondary schools as among government efforts to educate Kenyans.
"The Government is committed to reducing the cost of secondary education in as much as it could and we have implemented measures to that effect. We also realise that we need to do more but this has to be in conjunction with others," he said.
The assistant minister said that from next year, the Government would provide Sh3,600 per student in public secondary school as tuition fees.
"In spite of these measures, secondary school education in boarding schools is still expensive due to indirect charges which have led to Sh14 billion outstanding as unpaid fees by those who have completed school," he said.
He noted that a ministerial task force set up to assess the cost of secondary school education was about to complete its work.
He was responding to Mr Karaba's motion.
The retired teacher also sought explanation on the measures the Government had put in place to reduce the cost of education.
Assist families
The Kerugoya/Kutus MP said the object of his motion was to ensure that students from poor families could access education from Standard One to Form Four.
"This is the only way we can assist poor families to access education from primary to secondary school."
Dr Mwiria agreed with Youth Affairs assistant minister Katoo ole Metito and Kacheliba MP Samuel Poghisio (Kanu) that secondary schools would soon receive more students due to free primary education.
"Transition rate from primary to secondary school has risen from 45 per cent in 2003 to 60 per cent in 2006 and much more is expected," said Dr Mwiria.
Mr Poghisio warned that secondary schools would soon be unable to absorb high numbers of primary school leavers and asked the Government to be prepared.
"It is only a matter of time before the high enrolment rates that have been in primary schools move to secondary schools.
"We better prepare for it now by creating a fund that will also assist in building schools and hiring teachers," he said.
Nomadic life
The Kanu MP said the fund should be based at constituencies to make it easier for identification of needy students. He complained that pastoral communities were disadvantaged on secondary education because of their nomadic life and blamed it for high school drop-out rates.
"Pastoralists are faced with drought, water shortage and a cultural trap which affect education. The willingness to take students to school is there but there is no money."
Mr Metito said bursary funds and the tuition waiver were inadequate to cater for students expected to join secondary schools.
Dr Mwiria urged MPs to lead by example and be the first group to contribute towards the fund.
He said billions of money stashed abroad by officials in the last regime should be repatriated and used to reduce the cost of education.
MPs P.G. Mureithi (Nyeri Town, Narc) and Harrison Kombe (Magarini, Shirikisho) said the fund should target the disabled.
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