Today, Monday, February 6, is the first day of Form One admissions across the country, a week after junior secondary schools opened and two weeks after the new academic calendar began.
Learners are going back to school at a time when parents are dealing with rising living costs, which have caused the prices of essential commodities to increase.
The Ministry of Education issued a variety of directives, some of which were intended to protect parents from exploitative school principals. The guidelines covered all aspects, such as school fees, clothing, textbooks, and calendar dates.
Here’s what you should know if your child is starting kindergarten, junior high school, or any other level of education.
Opening Dates
All form one students are expected to report to their respective schools from Monday, February 6 to Monday, February 13. Where some challenges are encountered in the admission process or clarification is required, parents were advised to consult County Directors of Education for assistance.
The Ministry of Education announced that National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) would be the key platform for monitoring the student’s progress in the school system. The school principals were directed to file accurate daily returns on the status of reporting to schools.
School Calendar
Upon being admitted, the form one students will join the rest of the students who resumed learning on Monday, January 23. They will later break for three days half term from Thursday, March 16 to Sunday, March 19.
Schools will close for a two weeks holiday on Friday, April 22 to May 7.
The Ministry stated that the revision of the term dates was in a bid to normalize the school calendar which was disrupted by the pandemic.
Term One Term Dates
- first term will run from January 23 up to April 21, 2023.
- There will be a three-day first term mid-term break from March 16 to March 19.
- First term holiday will be between April 22 and May 7, 2023
Term Two Term Dates
- Second term will run from May 8 to August 11, 2023.
- Second term half-term break will be on June 29 to July 2, 2023.
- Second term holiday: From August 12 up to August 27, 2023.
Term Three Term Dates
- Term 3 will run from August 28 up to October 27, 2023.
- There will be no half term break for the learners in term 3.
- Term 3 December Holiday For Learners not taking National Exams: October 28, 2023 to January 8, 2024.
2023 National Examinations Period:
- 2023 KCPE and KPSEA Exams: KCPE candidates and Grade Six learners (KPSEA) will sit for their
Knec exams from October 30, 2023 to November 2, 2023. - 2023 KCSE examinations will begin on November 3, 2023 and run up to November 24, 2023.
- Marking of National Exams to end by December 15, 2023.
School Fees
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, school fees for the public secondary school would not change. The government will maintain its capitation per student in all public secondary schools at Ksh22,244.
“School fees for 2023 academic calendar year will not be changed and will remain at Ksh53,554 while that of County and Extra-County Schools will remain at Ksh40,555.
Table 1: FDSE Structure
| Item | Description | Amount |
| (i) | Tuition (Teaching Learning materials and exams) | 4,144.00 |
| (ii) | Medical/Insurance | 2,000.00 |
| (iii) | Activity | 1,500.00 |
| (iv) | SMASSE | 200.00 |
| (v) | *Other Vote heads (Local Transport and Travel, Administrative costs, Electricity, Water and Conservancy, Personnel Emolument) | 9,400.00 |
| (vi) | Maintenance and Improvement | 5,000.00 |
| Grand Total | 22,244.00 |
Tabe 2: Fees Structure for Day Schools
| Vote Heads | Parent | GOK (KSH) |
| Teaching learning materials and exams | 0 | 4,144.00 |
| SMASSE | 0 | 200.00 |
| Maintenance and Improvement | 0 | 5,000.00 |
| Activity fee | 0 | 1,500.00 |
| Medical and Insurance | 0 | 2,000.00 |
| *Other vote heads (Local Transport and Travel, Administrative Costs, Electricity, Water and Conservancy, Personnel Emoluments) | 0 | 9,400.00 |
| Total school fees | 0 | 22,244.00 |
Table 3: Fees Structure for Category A (Boarding schools)
| Vote head | GOK | Parent | Total (Ksh) |
| Teaching, Learning materials and Exams | 4, 144 | 0 | 4, 144.00 |
| Boarding Equipment and Stores | 0 | 30,385 | 30,385.00 |
| Maintenance and Improvement | 5,000 | 2,000 | 7,000.00 |
| *Other vote heads- (Local Transport and Travel, Administrative Costs, Electricity, Water and Conservancy, Personnel Emolument) | 9,400 | 20,371 | 29,771.00 |
| Activity fees | 1,500 | 798 | 2,298.00 |
| Medical and Insurance | 2,000 | – | 2,000.00 |
| SMASSE | 200 | – | 200.00 |
| Total school fees | 22,244 | 53,554 | 75,798.00 |
School Placement
Parents were directed to make sure they take their children to the respective schools in which they were placed and in case of dissatisfaction, they should raise the matter with the desired schools for assistance.
You can seek assistance by writing an email to placement(at)education(dot)go(dot)ke.
Uniforms
Amidst complaints from parents about high cost of uniforms, the MoE noted that some schools have been forcing parents to buy uniforms from their institutions which is against the ministry’s guidelines.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang announced that parents are supposed to buy uniforms from their preferred shops.
“Principals of secondary schools who force parents to buy uniforms from their institutions or preferred dealers will be tracked down and punished.
