Kenyan public schools may not charge tuition; heads say capitation is arriving short

A Kenyan public school may not charge tuition. Any other charge needs the approval of the Cabinet Secretary for Education, and no child may be refused school for failing to pay an approved charge. That is section 29 of the Basic Education Act. The state pays for senior schools through capitation, a fixed grant per learner, which the Ministry of Education put at KSh 22,244 per learner per year in a circular dated 2 January 2026.

School heads say the money has not arrived at that rate. Willy Kuria, chair of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA), said that salaries and other essential bills must be paid whether the money is available or not, as quoted by the Daily Nation on 17 October 2026. He said some schools were relying on suppliers to provide chemicals and equipment on credit, and others were turning to parents.

Section 29(1) says no public school shall charge or cause any parent or guardian to pay tuition fees for any pupil. Section 29(2) then sets three exceptions and conditions. Tuition fees may be payable by persons who are not Kenyan citizens. Other charges may be imposed with the Cabinet Secretary's approval, given in consultation with the county education board, and no child may be refused school for failing to pay them. And no person may collect levies without issuing an official receipt.

On 2 January 2026, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said the government had released KSh 44,245,066,500.85 as Term 1 capitation for all public basic education. Of that, KSh 3,703,074,646.10 went to free primary education, KSh 14,459,193,520.00 to free day junior school education and KSh 26,082,798,334.75 to free day secondary education. His statement cited Article 53 of the Constitution, which entitles every child to free and compulsory basic education, and said the circular of the same date confirmed that fees payable by learners in senior schools remain unchanged. It also told school heads to desist from imposing extra levies or fees and said the Ministry would deal firmly with verified cases of misappropriation of resources and of extra levies or fees.

The Star reported on 9 February 2026 that a Gazette notice dated 6 February sets the fees structure for public senior schools, for both Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and 8-4-4 learners, from 5 January 2026, and revokes Gazette Notice No. 1555 of 2015. Day schools carry no household contribution. For boarding schools, Capital FM reported on 7 February that households may be charged up to KSh 53,554 a year, or up to KSh 40,535 in boarding schools of the second cluster. Fees are to be paid across the three terms in a 50:30:20 ratio, and the notice says any future variations must be approved by the Cabinet Secretary and gazetted.

Citing the Ministry of Education, the Nation says schools should receive the KSh 22,244 per learner in three tranches at 50:30:20 across the three terms. Using figures provided by KESSHA, it gives these amounts per learner in public secondary schools:

Source: Daily Nation, 17 October 2026.

The Nation also reports that a circular dated 28 July indicated a Term 3 allocation of KSh 3,367.60 per learner. In September, school heads put the shortfall at about KSh 8,000 per learner against the annual allocation of KSh 22,244.

For a family, the written rules are these. A day senior school may not bill tuition, and the 2026 notice lists no household contribution for day schools. A boarding school may charge parents up to the notice's ceilings, and Ogamba said in February that schools charging below them are encouraged to maintain their rates. Any other levy needs the Cabinet Secretary's approval and must come with an official receipt. Non-citizens may be charged tuition under section 29(2).

Ogamba spoke about levies at the Mbiriri Comprehensive School Education Day in Nyeri County on 18 July, the Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke reported on 19 July. He said several principals had already faced disciplinary action after schools imposed unauthorised levies without following Ministry procedures. “Where that happens, and it is brought to our attention, we are now taking action against the principals,” he said. A levy, he said, should not be charged unless it “has been approved, gone through the required process, accepted by parents and cleared under ministry protocols”.