Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha has ordered school heads across the country to ensure parents pay school fees for the 3rd term.
He also instructed school heads not to allow students who have fees arrears back to school as they report from their mid-term break.
According to Magoha, majority of parents who are yet to clear school fees arrears for their children are indeed capable, but were only taking advantage of the current financial situation in the country to pretend otherwise.
“The headteachers and principals should double-check and ensure that the child they are sending home is not from a poor family or where the parent has lost their job. Majority of people who are refusing to pay school fees can afford to pay and they must now pay,” he said.
He said exemptions should only be accorded to those students that the school principals know for sure that they come from poor families and those whose parents have lost their jobs during this Covid-19 period.
On Form one selection, Magoha announced that the Form 1 selection process is on course and will be complete in 2 weeks times as more than 1 million learners will get placements across various secondary schools in the country.
He added that they have enough face masks which they will be distributing to needy schools to help in containing the virus.
Magoha was speaking at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) during the handing over of the multi-million Agricultural Laboratory (ALB) building which was funded by the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA).