Has Govt Increased Fees For These Schools Ahead Of January Reopening? Govt Clarifies
His clarification followed reports alleging that the state planned to standardize boarding school fees at Ksh53,000 per year for all senior secondary schools
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has refuted claims that the government has raised boarding fees in public senior schools.
In a statement issued on Thursday, November 6, Ogamba clarified that the reports were false and urged Kenyans to disregard them.
"Our attention has been drawn to reports in sections of the media to the effect that boarding fees payable by learners in public senior schools have been revised upwards.
"Parents, learners, and the general public are hereby notified that there has been no revision of boarding fees, or any other fees, payable by learners," he stated.
KCSE students doing their exams. /FILE
The CS emphasized that the existing school-fee guidelines remain unchanged and that the government is committed to funding education through its capitation programme.
"The prevailing guidance from the Ministry of Education on the amounts payable as boarding fees will continue to apply as has been the case.
"The Government will continue to fulfil its constitutional duty of providing capitation for learners in senior school. The approved rate of capitation for this level of education remains Ksh22,244 per learner per year," he added.
His clarification followed reports alleging that the state planned to standardize boarding school fees at Ksh53,000 per year for all senior secondary schools — a claim he dismissed.
The speculation came amid concerns over budget shortfalls affecting the education sector. Earlier, on June 16, the High Court ruled that no school principal could impose any new levies without authorization from the Education CS, after a parent from a leading Nairobi school filed a petition.
Many schools in Kenya charge extra levies for operations, infrastructure, co-curriculars, exams, and development projects. However, some principals have been accused of exploiting loopholes to impose illegal fees — a practice education stakeholders have urged the ministry to end.
Ogamba also addressed the ongoing verification of capitation funds, which had delayed disbursements to several schools.
He explained that the verification was launched after the Auditor General raised concerns about ghost schools and inflated student enrolment figures, prompting the ministry to audit the system and identify irregularities.
The CS noted that funds were being released gradually to institutions that had completed the verification process, ensuring accountability before full disbursement. By the conclusion of the exercise, the ministry had flagged 990 schools — 570 primary and 420 secondary — for failing to submit their enrolment data.
He added that the government decided to release only half of the capitation funds to those schools based on second-term records, pending physical verification to confirm their existence.
Education CS Julius Ogamba addressing KCSE candidates on Monday, October 3, 2025. /MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
