An elderly parent collapsed at Kingwende Secondary School in Kwale after he was asked to pay Sh16,000 school fees yet he had only Sh800.
The man,
Chale Ndaikwa
from Kinango sub-county, had taken his daughter for admission after she scored 319 marks.
Ndaikwa
started to diarrhea and vomit and later collapsed in what may have been a coincidence.
But the girl named Fatuma Chale said:
"Father had only Sh800. I think he was shocked by the amount he was supposed to pay as he thought what he had was enough."
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School principal Peninah Mwinyi said the two arrived at 7 pm and seemed "very exhausted".
"We explained to him what he was supposed to pay and he seemed too shocked. He fainted ... we rushed him to Msambweni hospital ... he was discharged at midnight," Mwinyi said on Wednesday.
Ndaikwa depends on his charcoal business to sustain his family of seven.
He has two other children in high school.
"Currently we have enrolled the child to the Verkaat Foundation scholarship programme," the principal said.
Most parents across the country are shocked by the high fees being charged although the government promised free secondary education.
Many learners are stranded as their parents cannot raise the amounts.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has asked the government to consider totally waiving secondary school fees to lessen the burden on parents.
The MP noted parents are still being forced to pay school fees amounting to up to Sh50,000, especially in national and extra-county schools.