Kenyan public schools are facing an uproar for imposing illegal fees on parents, significantly exceeding government guidelines and official allocations.

• Many public schools are charging fees way beyond the reach of many parents, with some institutions like Alliance Girls High School increasing fees from Sh53,554 to Sh120,179.
• The Ministry of Education, led by CS Julius Ogamba, is investigating these irregular fee hikes and has already initiated disciplinary action against the principal of Alliance Girls.
• This situation arises due to declining government funding for basic education; the Free Primary Education (FPE) allocation of Sh1,420 per learner has remained unchanged since 2003, and the Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) allocation of Sh22,244 was last reviewed in 2018.