It costs between Sh60,000 and Sh100,000 to get children admitted to Form 1 in a boarding school.
Parents have complained about the high costs in fees, stationery, uniforms and other expenses as Form 1 admission closes Friday.
The requirement by most schools for parents to clear fees upon reporting has been the biggest headache as it means parting with huge sums of money.
Upon clearing fees, parents were required to pay another Sh20,000 for uniforms and bedding provided by the schools.
"We paid Sh55,000 for school fees and uniforms," a parent at Pangani Girls told the Star on Monday.
A family from Kisii whose daughter was set to report to Naivasha Girls on Monday narrated how the school turned them away for a Sh200 fee balance. The school ordered Form 1s to pay their fees in full on the reporting day.
“I had to go back to town, pay the money and come back since they were not taking cash,” the parent told the Star.
In some schools, metallic boxes are outlawed and parents are required to instead buy a lockable suitcase.
A parent at Naivasha Girls said those who defied the requirement and bought metallic boxes were turned back.
The parent of a St Georges Girls School student who sought to remain anonymous said the family spent over Sh30,000 to buy personal effects the school had listed in the admission letter.
The Star sampled a few admission letters from Pangani, St George’s Girls and Naivasha Girls to verify admission requirements.
Personal effects required included towels, leather shoes, rubber shoes for games, cloth pegs, a plastic bucket, a spoon, cup and plate.
For classwork, schools demanded Oxford geometrical sets, a ruler, pencil, rubber, biro pens, spring files, white lab coat, marking pen, Atlas, dictionary and Kamusi.
Others included toothbrushes and toothpaste, slippers, face towel, nightdresses or pyjamas, underpants. Items for personal use included soaps detergent, bar soap, petroleum jelly, lotion, black hairband and nail cutter.
For girls, they also needed boob tops and sanitary towels.
In other institutions, students were asked to also bring with them a rag or broom for mopping the floor. Others are required to buy sports equipment like hockey sticks.
Schools required students to have most personal effects double quantities and in some instances more than two.
Before reporting, students are also required to produce a medical certificate from a government hospital.
“I spent Sh1,000 for the hospital to run the check-up,” a parent at Pangani told the Star.
For uniforms, most schools have now adopted a model where the institutions provide them to new students at a fee.
In Naivasha Girls, the admission letter reads, “uniform will be obtained from the supplier positioned at the academic square in the school compound, upon production of proof of payment… total cost of the uniforms and beddings is Sh20,210,”
The price of the uniform ranges from one institution to the other.
