The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is calling for urgent government action over illegal school levies that are keeping learners out of classrooms and making access to basic education increasingly dependent on their families’ ability to pay.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The call follows a new survey by the Elimu Bora Working Group (EBWG), which found that nearly half of learners are being sent home or barred from class over unpaid school levies.

According to the survey, 45.9 per cent of learners were occasionally or very often sent home or kept out of class because their families could not afford the levies, with 17.5 per cent experiencing this very often.

The burden was higher in day schools, where 64.9 per cent of learners were reportedly sent home or barred from class, compared with 40.5 per cent in boarding schools.

📌 What You Need to Know

KHRC said the findings raise serious concerns over the constitutional guarantee of free and compulsory basic education, arguing that learners should not be denied lessons, examinations or the opportunity to complete school because their families cannot afford illegal charges.

The survey covered 388 parents, guardians and grandparents across 11 counties. It found that more than nine in 10 households surveyed either paid an illegal levy in 2025, expected to pay one in 2026, or expected to pay more than the gazetted school fees.

The burden was heavier among low-income families, with 61.3 per cent of learners from households earning less than Ksh10,000 a month being sent home or barred from class, compared with 23.1 per cent from households earning between Ksh30,001 and Ksh60,000.

Families are also struggling to meet the extra costs, with 61.6 per cent saying the levies were difficult or impossible to afford. Remedial tuition and motivation fees affected 49.2 per cent of households, with a median charge of Ksh5,000, while some families reported development levies of up to Ksh50,000 or Ksh60,000.

Development levies were among the charges most commonly enforced by sending learners home, with 83.3 per cent of affected households reporting such threats.

The survey also documented cases where schools withheld certificates or refused to clear Form Four candidates until illegal charges were settled.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke