Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Kenya is planning to increase tuition costs in January. The association of high school principals has presented a proposal with the new costs to the Education Minister, asking that if the government cannot cover the costs, that they be covered by parents.
If this occurs, it would imply a large setback in the campaign for tuition-free education, considered one of the founding principles of President Kibaki's government.
With this added weight on families, an increase in food costs is also being imposed – in recent months, a 28% increase.
According to a recent report from Kenya's National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the cost of education has been constantly on the rise, in spite of government funding.
The schools say that the increase in taxes is due to the increase in the cost of food items, in addition to that of equipment, local rent costs, transportation, electricity, water, and the salaries of non-teacher personnel.
As a result of these increases, the school principals' association said that the schools have been obliged to pay 900 shillings extra for a sack of 90 kilos of grain and 650 shillings for a sack of beans.
A school uses, on average, one sack of grain and a quarter of a sack of beans per student per year. “With the current food prices, we should prepare ourselves for hard times to come,” one of the school principals said.
The increase in food prices has been strongly criticized by Archbishop Boniface M. Lele of Mombasa, who has accused some speculators of having created an artificial crisis that is taking its toll on the most vulnerable of the population (see Fides 26/11/2008).
There has also been an increase in the price of fuel and electricity, which is causing grave problems. The increase in electricity expenses is also affected by the high fuel costs, as the lack of rain has imposed a production decrease in the local hydro-electric centers. In order to face this scarcity, Kenya is trying to develop its own electricity system with that of Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, to support a regional energy center. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 27/11/2008)
