Girls in classroom learning. /AI ILLUSTRATIONParents are selling assets and borrowing money to meet illegal charges imposed by public secondary schools, with nearly two in three households saying the levies are difficult or impossible to afford, a new survey has found.
The survey by the Elimu Bora Working Group (EBWG) found that 98 per cent of households either paid an illegal levy in 2025, expected to pay one in 2026 or expected to pay more than the gazetted school fees.
The financial strain is forcing families to make difficult choices, with 61.6 per cent saying the extra levies were difficult or impossible to afford.
“Nearly 37 per cent reported borrowing money or selling assets very often to meet these illegal costs,” EBWG said.
The most common charges were remedial tuition and motivation fees, affecting 49.2 per cent of households at a median cost of Sh5,000.
Development levies affected 32.2 per cent, also at a median of Sh5,000, although some families reported being charged between Sh50,000 and Sh60,000.
Development levies were also the charges most frequently backed by threats to exclude learners, with 83.3 per cent of affected households reporting that children could be sent home for failing to pay.
Some families also reported compulsory motivation fees, ICT and activity fees, PTA contributions, payments for printing paper and purchases of uniforms, bedding and other items from schools or designated suppliers at inflated costs.
The consequences of non-payment were severe. Nearly 45.9 per cent of learners surveyed were occasionally sent home or barred from class, with 17.5 per cent reporting experiencing this very often.
“The most troubling finding is that when families cannot pay, children are kept out of school,” EBWG said.
The report said consequences for parents who fail to pay may persist even after learners complete school.
The survey found cases of schools withholding certificates or refusing to clear learners, particularly Form Four candidates, until illegal charges were settled.
“Such practices can obstruct access to higher education and employment after a learner has completed secondary school,” the report said.
Day-school learners bore the brunt; 64.9 per cent were sent home or barred from class, compared with 40.5 per cent in boarding schools.
Among day-school learners, 60.6 per cent missed school days because of levies, 51.1 per cent missed examinations or tests, 48.9 per cent lost motivation to attend school, and 42.6 per cent faced discrimination because of unpaid charges.
The poorest households bore the heaviest impact, with 61.3 per cent of learners from households earning less than Sh10,000 a month occasionally sent home compared with 23.1 per cent among households earning between Sh30,001 and Sh60,000.
The report also found that boarding-school entry costs can substantially exceed official limits. Parents expected to pay an average of Sh62,715 per child in 2026, above the gazetted parental fee of Sh53,554.
When fees, levies, uniforms and bedding are factored in, joining costs reached Sh160,000 at some schools.
Nearly one in five boarding households expected to pay more than Sh80,000, while 14.1 per cent of boarding parents quoted expected fees charged of more than Sh100,000.
For day schools, where tuition is covered by government capitation, parents nevertheless expected to pay an average of Sh20,619 a year.
The survey found that uniforms and bedding alone could amount to a median cost of Sh14,500 for uniforms and Sh7,550 for bedding.
Among boarding parents restricted to school or designated suppliers, the median uniform cost averaged Sh20,000, compared with Sh15,000 where parents could buy from any supplier.
Collection of the levies was often coercive, with two-thirds of parents reporting receiving verbal demands for payment, while 44.3 per cent reported threats to send learners home.
Others were summoned to school or said their children were publicly called out for owing money.
“Only 19.1 per cent of parents were properly consulted before levies were introduced, 58.2 per cent received no meaningful explanation of how the money is used, and 87.4 per cent never complained, mainly for fear of victimisation.”
The study was a rapid, descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted through a structured mobile questionnaire administered by trained EBWG enumerators.
It covered 12 counties and received 423 responses, of which 388 were found valid after cleaning and verification.
Open-ended responses were analysed thematically, while the survey was supplemented by a review of Ministry of Education circulars, fee guidelines and publicly reported cases.
The findings come against a legal framework that guarantees children free and compulsory basic education.
The High Court has previously held that public schools cannot impose charges without the requisite approval and that no child should be denied education for failure to pay approved additional charges.
The government has repeatedly warned public-school administrators against arbitrarily increasing fees or imposing additional levies.
The official secondary-school financing structure provides government capitation of Sh22,244 per learner annually, although boarding schools are allowed to charge approved parental fees for boarding-related costs.
The EBWG, however, argues that enforcement remains inadequate and calls for a national audit of school fee structures, sanctions against schools imposing unauthorised charges and reimbursement of parents who have paid illegal levies.
It also wants the government to publish and communicate official fee structures, regulate school-linked uniform and bedding suppliers, strengthen confidential complaints mechanisms and ensure full and timely release of capitation.
“Illegal levies are a barrier to the right to education, and the government must not allow schools to impose them and then punish children for their parents’ inability to pay,” the report says.
It further recommends that schools publish annual budgets, bank all levies through official school accounts and issue receipts for every payment.
It calls for clear directives barring schools from sending children home, denying them meals or excluding them from examinations because of inability to pay.
The EBWG wants a comprehensive national assessment of illegal levies to establish the full scale of the problem and guide systemic reforms, arguing that the principal challenge is no longer the absence of laws but their enforcement.
