School principals vow to charge parents additional fees despite court ban -

By Daisy Okiring

June 24, 2025 | Nairobi: Public secondary school heads in Kenya have announced they will not comply with a recent High Court directive barring the collection of unauthorized school levies. The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) insists that the financial reality on the ground leaves them no choice.

Speaking on June 24 in Mombasa during a press briefing ahead of KESSHA’s annual conference, Chairperson Willy Kuria criticized the current education funding model. He stated that the government has failed to adjust school capitation in line with inflation, leaving institutions under severe financial pressure.

“The current Ksh40,000 allocation per student in boarding schools was set in 2015. That figure does not reflect the 46 percent rise in inflation over the last decade,” Kuria said.

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He noted that more than 90 percent of public secondary schools are struggling to remain operational due to delayed government disbursements and insufficient funds. Kuria argued that until a new, realistic funding framework is implemented, schools will continue to charge parents extra levies to maintain basic services.

The court ruling, issued by Justice Lawrence Mugambi on June 16, declared it unlawful for headteachers to introduce any additional fees without the approval of the Education Cabinet Secretary. The court emphasized that such levies, even when backed by parents, must respect the legal guarantee of free and compulsory education.

The case originated from a complaint by a parent at St George’s Girls Secondary School, whose child was sent home due to unpaid levies. The school maintained that the levy was part of a parent-approved development program, not an official school fee.

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Despite this, KESSHA leaders remain firm in their stance, arguing that the financial gap leaves them with no alternative but to continue the practice.