The Ministry of Education has released the
2025 school fees structure for all secondary schools under the government’s
Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) programme.
The new guidelines shows the amount of school fees to be
paid by parents in National Schools, Extra County Schools, County, Sub-county
and special schools. Here are the new guidelines from the Ministry;
GUIDELINES ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FREE DAY SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR 2025
Priorities of secondary education are
guided by strategic objectives articulated in the Medium Term Plan III of
Vision 2030 and the Constitution of Kenya In this regard, the Government of
Kenya (GOK) will continue with its effort to maintain one hundred percent
(100%) transition from primary to secondary education.
Hence, the decision to enhance the maintenance and
improvement to help schools meet some maintenance and development needs will
continue to apply in 2025.
This budget component will be used to improve existing
infrastructure and in some cases put up new facilities to ease pressure on
existing facilities.
The guidance on the use of this vote as provided during the
actual disbursement of funds will continue to apply in 2025.
Schools will therefore continue to operate with merged votes
in 2025 to enable these schools meet some of their critical needs in a flexible
manner.
FDSE CAPITATION TO SCHOOLS
Government subsidy (Capitation) to schools to actualize Free
Day Secondary Education (FDSE) will be KES. 22,244.00 annually per learner as
stipulated in table below;
Table 1: FDSE Structure
|
S/NO. |
ITEM |
AMOUNT (KES) |
|
1 |
Tuition |
4,144.00 |
|
2 |
Medical/ Insurance |
2,000.00 |
|
3 |
Activity |
1,500.00 |
|
4 |
SMASSE |
200.00 |
|
5 |
Other Vote Heads |
9,400.00 |
|
6 |
Maintenance and Improvement |
5,000.00 |
|
7 |
Grand Total |
22,244.00 |
Other vote heads: local travel and transport,
Administration, Electricity, Personnel emolument.
Disbursement of capitation to schools will be done in the
ratio 50:30:20.
Schools are directed that they capture all learners in order
for them to get full funding. This Government subsidy is disbursed to public
schools under the following conditions:
- The
school must be duly registered and headed by a TSC appointed principal.
- The
school must be registered on the NEMIS platform
- The
school must register and update learners records in the NEMIS platform
- All
bank accounts operated by the school must be registered in NEMIS and with
MOE at all its levels.
Under the Operation account, schools may seek authority from
the CEBs to wire savings or surplus funds from one item to another when it is
absolutely necessary but the same does not apply for tuition account.
It is further clarified that the personnel emolument will
not be restricted to payment of Non teaching staff.
2025 SCHOOL FEES STRUCTURES
1.1.1 Day Schools
The Government of Kenya will continue to offer free day
schooling and the fees structure for day schools in shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Fees Structure for Day Schools
Other vote heads Local travel and transport, Administration,
Electricity, Personnel
emolument
1.1.2 Boarding Schools
The government will provide capitation for each learner in a
boarding school that is equal to capitation for each learner in a day school.
In order to meet the cost of boarding, parents will pay the
boarding fees applicable to different categories of schools and location.
Tables 3, 4 and 5 below provide the details of the fees.
Table 3: 2025 Boarding school’s fees structure- category
A*
|
S/NO. |
VOTE HEAD |
G.O.K |
PARENT |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Teaching,
Learning Materials & Exams |
4,144.00 |
0 |
4,144.00 |
|
2 |
Boarding Equipment & Stores |
0.00 |
24,935.00 |
24,935.00 |
|
3 |
Maintenance & Improvement |
5,000.00 |
2,000.00 |
7,000.00 |
|
4 |
Other Vote Heads |
9,400.00 |
17,267.00 |
26,667.00 |
|
5 |
Activity Fees |
1,500.00 |
798.00 |
2,298.00 |
|
6 |
Medical & Insurance |
2,000.00 |
0.00 |
2,000.00 |
|
7 |
SMASSE |
200.00 |
0.00 |
200.00 |
|
8 |
Total School Fees |
22,244.00 |
45,000.00 |
67,244.00 |
*Other vote heads Local travel and transport,
Administration. Electricity, Personnel emolument.
Schools classified as Category A are:
- All
National schools and
- Extra
county schools that are located in the following towns: Nairobi, Mombasa,
Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret ONLY.
Table 4: 2025 Boarding schools fees structure-
category B*
|
S/NO. |
VOTE HEAD |
G.O.K |
PARENT |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Teachiing, Learning Materials & Exams |
4,144.00 |
0 |
4,144.00 |
|
2 |
Boarding Equipment & Stores |
0.00 |
20,830.00 |
20,830.00 |
|
3 |
Maintenance & Improvement |
5,000.00 |
2,000.00 |
7,000.00 |
|
4 |
Other Vote Heads |
9,400.00 |
11,670.00 |
21,070.00 |
|
5 |
Activity Fees |
1,500.00 |
500.00 |
2,000.00 |
|
6 |
Medical & Insurance |
2,000.00 |
0.00 |
2,000.00 |
|
7 |
SMASSE |
200.00 |
0.00 |
200.00 |
|
8 |
Total School Fees |
22,244.00 |
35,000.00 |
57,244.00 |
*Other vote heads Local travel and transport,
Administration, Electricity, Personnel emolument.
Schools classified as Category B* are other boarding schools
including extra county schools that are located in other areas other than the
town of Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika and Eldoret.
Table 5: 2025 Fees Structure for Special Needs Schools
|
S/NO. |
VOTE HEAD |
G.O.K |
PARENT |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Teaching, Learning Materials & Exams |
4,144.00 |
0 |
4,144.00 |
|
2 |
Boarding Equipment & Stores |
19,053.00 |
8,860.00 |
27,913.00 |
|
3 |
Maintenance & Improvement |
5,000.00 |
2,000.00 |
7,000.00 |
|
4 |
Other Vote Heads |
9,400.00 |
0.00 |
9,400.00 |
|
5 |
Activity Fees |
1,500.00 |
0.00 |
1,500.00 |
|
6 |
Medical & Insurance |
2,000.00 |
0.00 |
2,000.00 |
|
7 |
Top Up |
12,510.00 |
0.00 |
12,510.00 |
|
8 |
SMASSE |
200.00 |
0.00 |
200.00 |
|
9 |
Total School Fees |
53,807.00 |
10,860.00 |
67.167.00 |
Other vote heads Local travel and transport, Administration.
Electricity, Personnel emolument.
Schools classified as Special needs are those schools that
cater for learners with impairment e.g visual, physical, hearing and mental.
GOK has enhanced capitation to KES. 53,807.00 distributed in the fees structure
shown in Table 5.
The structure includes GOK subsidy of KES. 19,053.00 per
learner for Boarding Equipment and stores and a top up grant of 12,510.00 per
learner to cater for assistive devices and any additional personnel needed.
Schools are advised to adhere to the fees guidelines
provided in the regulations.
To ensure accountability and smooth implementation of the
FDSE programe, all schools are required to operate the following bank accounts.
2.0.1 Types of Bank Accounts
Schools are expected to have bank accounts for various
purposes and accountability. Each school should operate bank accounts as
follows:-
- Tuition
account: for banking of tuition funds and all payments should strictly
be made by cheques. Funds in the tuition account must be utilized for the
procurement of teaching and learning material (TLMs) only.
- Operational
Account: – This account is used for banking of all Government
subsidies except the tuition Infrastructure Grants as well as Maintenance
and improvement funds should be transferred to the school infrastructure
Account thirty days upon receipt of the funds.
- Boarding
Account: – This account for banking of funds paid by parents for
boarding related expenses.
- A
Saving Account: This account is for banking funds from the
Boarding Account Cash Book that cannot be put to immediate use.
- School
Infrastructure Account: – for banking infrastructure grants from
GoK and Maintenance and Improvement (M&L) funds. It is illegal to
spend grants from any other account. Therefore all grants must be
transferred whole into this account.
Schools with income generating activities shall open
separate bank accounts for the same. School who receive NGCDF support must open
an account for the project as provided for by the CDF Act.
2.0.2 OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR SCHOOL BANK ACCOUNTS
In addition to the above, the following procedures will
continue to apply:
- Each
account must have a separate cash book;
- All
schools must acknowledge the receipt of funds by a letter to the
CDE/uploading an official receipt on the NEMIS plat form;
- A
receipt is issued to every learner for the capitation amount received for
every disbursement;
- Schools
must post on their notice boards the amounts received;
- Schools
have the freedom to operate a fourth bank account to cater for development
funds;
- No
virement is authorized from the Tuition Account:
- All
CDF and donations or funds from Harambee must be receipted officially and
entered into the school Cash books. These include incomes from hire of
school facilities e.g grounds, classrooms, halls or billboards on school
compounds.
3.0 FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
All schools’ management, especially, principals, are expected
to ensure prudence in the use of school funds and to adhere to the laid down
financial regulations as stipulated in the reviewed Handbook on Financial
Management for Public Secondary Schools, Teacher Training Colleges And
Technical And Vocational Colleges in Kenya issued by the MOE, the Public
Finance Management Act, 2012 and the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2015.
All stipulated accounting procedures and other necessary
measures, including cost-saving, must be adhered to by all schools at all times.
In addition, the following will apply:-
- Schools
shall NOT enter into financial contracts e.g. Hire purchase, bank loans or
mortgages without the express written approval of the Cabinet Secretary in
line with Section 18 of 4 Schedule of the Basic Education Act,
2013.
- Every
principal shall be responsible for application and utilization of funds as
the accounting officer of the school. Guidelines of the same shall be
given before the actual disbursement.
4.0 PARENTAL OBLIGATIONS
Parents will continue to meet the following cost:
- School
uniforms;
- Boarding
related costs as reflected in the boarding school fees structure;
- Lunch
for the day scholars, and
- Clear
their fees balances for continuing students.
5.0 GUIDELINES FOR BOARD OF MANAGEMENT (BOM) EMPLOYEES
MOE will continue to disburse funds to support the BOM
employees. To minimize the cost of secondary education it
is necessary to rationalize the recruitment of such cadre of staff.
It shall be the responsibility of the boards to hire Non
Teaching Staff at terms commensurate with qualification and capacity to pay.
It is also important for schools to hire persons who are
qualified for the job.
6.0 TRANSFERS AND RE-ENTRY
Cases of re-admission of dropouts and transfer should be
dealt with on individual basis and as stipulated in the student transfer
guidelines.
All transfers must be handled through the NEMIS system.
7.0 ENROLLMENT DATA
It shall be the responsibility of the principal to ensure
accurate data is available in NEMIS and every student is fully registered on
the platform.
Every student has been issued with a UPI number. This must
be used at all time during admission and transfers.
Transfers of students should be avoided in the course of the
academic year and may only be sanctioned by the Director General under special
circumstances.
Disbursement of capitation will be done using the data
available in the system.
Schools which received capitation for students above the
enrollment will be penalized and the principal surcharged for loss of public
resources as provided for in Public Finance Management Act, 2012 Sections
197,198 and 202.
Hence forth, any change of bank accounts will be effected at
the head quarter with school request for change forwarded by the sub county
director of education
8.0 MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT FUNDS
Ministry of Education has made a decision to review to
Ksh.5,000 per student the amount for M&I per year to cater for ensuring a
proper learning environment with adequate school infrastructure and other
improvements.
Similarly, for boarding schools, an additional Ksh2,000 is
provided for.
This vote should only be used for immovable assets and other
form of infrastructure in the school that may require upgrading.
Approval must be sought from the relevant office on
utilization of the funds under this vote. Detailed guidelines will be issued on
the approval of projects under this lund.
9.0 INSURANCE AND STUDENTS MEDICAL COVER BY NHIF
This has since been discontinued.
10.0 INELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES
As stipulated in the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act,
2012,
- Every
public officer employed in a public entity shall comply with the
Constitution and all laws relating to the conduct of public officers when
carrying out a responsibility or exercising a power under this Act.
- Without
prejudice to PFM Act provisions, a public officer shall ensure that the
resources in his/her purview are used in a way, which is (a) lawful and
authorized; and (b) Effective, efficient, economical and transparent;
- All
procurement of goods and services is to be carried out in accordance with
Article 227 of the Constitution and the relevant legislation on
procurement and disposal of assets.
- An
Accounting Officer may not authorize payment to be made out of funds
earmarked for specific activities for other purposes other than those
activities.