Mounting complaints from parents over school fees have pushed Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir to order a fresh review of the county's secondary school feeding programme, amid concerns that the initiative is not delivering the financial relief it was meant to provide.
The county government has launched an assessment exercise to determine whether the programme is helping families lower education costs as initially promised.
The move follows growing concerns from parents who say many households are still struggling to keep children in school despite the county-funded meals provided under the scheme.
Questions about the programme's impact have gained attention following reports of students being sent home because of unpaid fees. The situation has raised concerns over whether the expected savings from the initiative are reaching parents and guardians.
To get a clear picture of the programme's performance, the governor has sent county teams into communities to collect views from parents, students, teachers and school administrators. The exercise, which starts this week, will examine whether the initiative is meeting its targets of improving attendance, supporting academic performance and easing the cost of secondary education.
Nassir said the county government is keen on hearing directly from those affected by the programme instead of relying entirely on internal reports.
“This week, I am dispatching county teams across our communities to hear directly from parents, students, teachers and school leaders on the impact of our Secondary School Feeding Programme,” said Mr Nassir.
The programme was rolled out as one of the county government's key education projects, aimed at expanding access to learning while helping families cope with the high cost of living.
Under the arrangement, day secondary school learners receive meals funded by the county government. The expectation was that schools would in turn reduce the amount of fees charged to parents.
“When we introduced this initiative, our objective was clear: improve attendance and academic performance while easing the financial burden on families by reducing school fees by approximately Sh12,000 per learner annually. We now want to establish the facts on the ground,” he said.
The findings from the exercise are expected to help the county determine whether the programme is achieving its intended goals and whether adjustments are needed to ensure families receive the benefits that were promised.