The government has moved to ruthlessly crush the creeping culture of illegal levies in public schools. In a decisive Gazette Notice, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has codified strict fee ceilings for 2026, drawing a line in the sand to protect financially battered households from predatory principals.

The new guidelines are a direct response to a rising outcry from parents who have been besieged by "development fees," "remedial charges," and other creative accounting tactics used by schools to bypass official limits. By gazetting these caps, the Ministry has elevated a policy directive into a legal command. Any principal found charging above the stipulated amounts now faces not just administrative censure, but potential legal peril. The message from Jogoo House is unequivocal: the exploitation of parents must end.

This regulatory intervention comes at a critical time. With the cost of living skyrocketing, the 2026 academic year threatened to be a breaking point for many families. The government’s commitment to fully fund tuition for day scholars is a vital social safety net, ensuring that basic education remains a right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford "motivation fees."

The Numbers You Need to Know

The Gazette Notice leaves no room for ambiguity. The government has increased its capitation per learner to KES 22,244, covering all tuition costs. This means that for the vast majority of day secondary schools, **tuition is free**. Parents are only expected to cover lunch and uniform costs, which must be reasonable.

• National & Extra-County Schools: For boarding institutions in these top-tier categories, fees are strictly capped at KES 53,554 per year.
• Other Boarding Schools: County and Sub-County boarding schools have a ceiling of KES 40,535.
• Special Needs Schools: Recognizing the extra costs involved, the government subsidizes these heavily, capping parental contribution at just KES 12,790.

Dispelling the Rumors

CS Ogamba also took the opportunity to slay a persistent rumor that had caused panic across the country. He clarified that the reported KES 9,374 fee increase was "false and misleading," stemming from a misinterpretation of an obsolete 2015 Gazette Notice. "That arrangement was superseded years ago," Ogamba stated. "The Free Day Secondary Education program is fully operational, and the government is meeting its obligations."

As schools settle into the first term, the Ministry has deployed quality assurance officers to audit fee structures on the ground. Parents are encouraged to report any deviations to the County Directors of Education. The era of impunity in school pricing is officially over; now begins the hard work of enforcement.