SAMSON NYASIMI: Magoha should rush to parents’ rescue as he did with UoN

Education CS George Magoha is on record warning school heads against charging extra school fees.

Reliable sources indicate that school heads claim it is parents who have agreed to pay extra fees when the truth is the parents are under undue pressure to accept the extra fees for fear of their children being victimised should they refuse to cooperate with school administrators.

Some head teachers also claim that during the Covid-19 pandemic school boards were ordered to sort out themselves.

A famous girls' national school is charging about Sh20,000 extra fees under the disguise of infrastructure loan repayments, personal emoluments, repair, maintenance and improvement. Parents cannot question this since the ministry has not given an outline on how to report this without any victimisation. 

But parents are also shocked to see the minister give an opinion on the subject when he has the power to act it. 

Unlike his predecessor, Prof Magoha speaks more but with little action, especially on the issue of school fees. Since parents and guardians have passed through challenging times during this pandemic, the time for the Ministry of Education to be remembered as having taken the plight of parents into consideration and stood with them in their time of need is now.

Many parents and guardians lost jobs while others experienced a decline in income due to Covid-19 restrictions and containment measures. In addition, the ministry came up with a crash school calendar that gives parents and learners a week or so to prepare for the next academic year. 

To be seen as being sincere in the subject of school fees, the Ministry of Education should not only insist on adherence to the issued guideline for school fees, but also issue a hotline number or email address to report rogue school heads who are taking advantage of parents.

Magoha was quick to respond to the University of Nairobi structural changes. He should be commended for the timely intervention.

The same spirit should be extended to saving parents from the burden of unauthorised extra school fees.