Parents Across Nairobi Raise Concerns Over Increased School Levies

A growing number of parents in Nairobi are voicing alarm over surging school levies, which they say are placing an increasingly heavy burden on family budgets. According to a recent survey by the Elimu Bora Working Group, more than 90 per cent of public schools sampled are still charging admission and development fees—despite policies declaring basic education free and compulsory. These levies, which can reach as high as KSh 25,000 in some urban schools, are being cited as major reasons for students being sent home and missing class.
School administrators and parents alike report that levies labelled as development fees , repair and maintenance funds , or lunch contributions are escalating. For many households in Nairobi’s informal settlements, the pressure is unbearable—especially when multiple children attend school. In some cases, schools have reportedly withheld admission or barred learners from sitting for assessments until the fees are paid. The situation has prompted a stern warning from Julius Ogamba, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, who on 18 June 2025 cautioned school heads against imposing illegal extra charges and reminded them that no principal or headteacher is allowed to levy any extra charges that are not part of the policy directive by the national government.
Parents say the levy hikes are pushing them into difficult choices: whether to keep a child in school or shift limited resources to other essential needs like food and healthcare. The school fees have shot up, the extra levies keep mounting, and we feel powerless, said one parent from an informal-settlement school in Nairobi. Meanwhile, advocacy organisations argue that the levies undermine the goal of universal access to education, exclude needy children, and deviate from the principles of free basic education enshrined in the Constitution and the Basic Education Act.
Looking ahead, parents and civil-society groups are calling on the Ministry of Education and Nairobi County officials to enforce stricter controls on school-levy structures and protect vulnerable households. Among the proposed measures are: public-display of approved fee schedules in all schools, parental awareness campaigns about legal school charges, and a monitoring mechanism to track fee collections and student retention. If acted on, these reforms could help ensure that rising school levies do not become a barrier to education access in Kenya’s capital.