Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has said that no parent will be required to pay for the construction of Junior Secondary School (JSS) classrooms.
Machogu expressed concern over reports of some schools attempting to charge extra fees to parents for the construction of JSS classrooms. He stated, “Schools must desist from asking parents to construct new classrooms for the current Grade 8 candidates.”
Machogu further directed that Grade 8 learners should utilize the classrooms left vacant by the previous cohort of Std 8 candidates who sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination in 2023.
He assured the public that plans are already in motion for the construction of classrooms to accommodate JSS learners, stating, “The government plans to spend Sh12.8 billion to facilitate the construction of 15,015 classrooms for JSS over the next year.”
The CS also confirmed that Sh7.6 billion has been released to school accounts for learners in Junior Secondary Schools and warned, “Schools are therefore not expected to charge any levies from parents.” Machogu urged field officers from the Ministry of Education to ensure strict compliance with all joining instructions to Junior Secondary schools and Form 1.
This announcement comes after reports of some learning institutions charging parents extra levies for expanding infrastructure and demanding new school uniforms for Grade 7 learners.
Machogu concluded by directing all 1,282,574 candidates who sat the 2023 Kenya Primary Schools Education Assessment to be allowed to join Grade 7 in the Junior Secondary Schools hosted by their respective primary schools. Basic education learning institutions have opened for the First term on Monday, January 8.
