Tunza Mtoto Coalition Executive Director Muthoni Ouko.That headteachers are charging levies most of the time is
not a factor of truancy.
The proposed law is trying to cure something, and here the
government is trying to blame teachers for charging fees in schools. The
question, however, is: does the government send enough money to schools? How
does the government imagine that these headteachers are going to operate?
There are two issues: principals charge extra levies because
government doesn’t meet its obligation. And when the government has met its
obligation, the money is never enough. If the government could practice fidelity,
it would be better.
For instance, it takes Sh22,000 to run a day secondary
school per child. If the government had sent the entire amount, we could move to
the level where we say if a principal is charging, then they are contradicting
the law.
But this government is just so haphazard, even charging a
principal Sh1 million for looking at ways of buying chalk and ensuring
continuity in the school; it is just a way of guessing things out.
President William Ruto has not accepted that education has
crumbled in his hands; he is now trying to clutch at straws, throwing the ball
to headteachers.
Even without fining, it doesn’t mean the Teachers Service
Commission is unable to act on these cases. You can interdict or dismiss the
concerned teachers. Therefore, this is
just a sideshow that we are being accustomed to lately.
Free primary education collapsed in their hands. And it cuts
across; see the case of universities where they are legislating; we don’t know
which funding model.
Charging headteachers is just being a busybody, with nothing tangible to show for it. The Sh1 million fine is a ridiculous one, to say the least.
Tunza Mtoto Coalition executive director spoke to the Star
