Parents received firm assurance from the government on Thursday that school fees will not go up in 2026, easing concerns that had been building ahead of the planned transition of thousands of learners to Grade 10 after the release of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment results.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba made the announcement during the release of the exam results, noting that the current fee structure will remain unchanged in the coming year. He said earlier reports suggesting that the ministry had introduced new charges were false.
“I wish to emphasize for the avoidance of doubt that there has been no revision of boarding fees, or any other fees payable for learners in Senior School. The prevailing guidance on amounts payable will continue to apply as before.”
He added that the government will continue providing capitation for learners in Senior School at Sh22,244 per year, and called on families to focus on supporting their children as they move to the next level.
“Learners will be placed in schools based on their KJSEA performance and selected learning pathways. The placement exercise starts next week and is expected to be completed by December 20th, 2025,” he said.
Ogamba also addressed concerns that had emerged last month when some parents and school heads raised questions about possible fee changes under the Competency-Based Curriculum. In November, he dismissed any talk of revised charges, saying the ministry had not altered the rates set earlier.
“The reports indicating that the fee structure has changed, let me take this opportunity to inform the country that the fee structure in this new education system has not changed,” Ogamba said.
He clarified that the ministry’s guidelines had been misunderstood and only pointed back to the Kenya Gazette notice of 2015, which already outlines the fees payable in various categories of schools. “The fee structure remains as stipulated in the Kenyan Gazette of 2015. Remember the guidelines that we released referred to the Kenyan Gazette of 2015, which stipulates the fees that are payable to all categories of our schools, so the fees have not changed,” he said.
Ogamba stressed that government funding to schools is still in place and no allocations have been cut. “No structure of fees has changed, the amount of capitation has also not changed,” he said.
He further listed the amounts currently provided by the government: “We are paying Ksh 1,500 for primary, Ksh 15,000 for junior school, and Ksh 22,240 for senior school or secondary schools. That was a misunderstanding of the guideline. So the fees have not been changed at all,” he stated.
His explanation is expected to ease the confusion that had grown after the rollout of new education guidelines, which left many parents unsure about what they were expected to pay as the CBC transition continues.
