Parents Raise Alarm Over High Costs and Confusion as Grade 10 Learners Report to Senior Schools in Homa Bay
As admissions continue across the county, parents are clamouring for clearer guides, but with very cheap requirements to ease the transition of learners to senior secondary education.
Parents accompanying their Grade 10 children. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
While most students in senior secondary are reporting with their parents, the parents expressed their concern over the soaring admission costs and the ambiguity surrounding placements and reporting with the admission process to be somewhere orderly.
At Homa Bay High School, some parents said they were surprised by discrepancies between what the government-issued admission letters had instructed and what the schools wanted. According to them, it was this non-uniformity of information that caused unnecessary costs and confusion during the reporting process.
Wilfred Osao, one parent, said the families had received two letters-one from the government and another from the school-whose contents were not fully in tandem. He said parents had been told to buy textbooks that were already provided for by the school, and avoidance of such would have been made possible with proper communication.
“We were given both the government letter and the school letter, but when you compare the two, you realize there are differences,” said Osao. “The government letter did not state that textbooks would be provided by the school, yet the school had them. There were also other items required by the school that were not mentioned earlier, which caused confusion for parents.”
Another parent, Jaramogi Obondo, also expressed similar concerns, stating that the admission process had generally been well organized but infuriatingly expensive for families. He added that some parents found themselves inconvenienced by unclear placement information and last-minute calling letters, which made it hard to plan.
Edna Kerubo, a parent from Kisii County, described the reporting exercise as smooth but expensive. She pointed to the high prices of uniforms and footwear approved by the school as a major hurdle to many families.
“I arrived around 11 a.m. to admit my child, and the process itself has been okay. I have not faced serious problems so far,” Kerubo said. “However, the costs are high. We were told not to bring crocs but slippers, yet on arrival we were required to buy school-approved slippers and uniforms.”
She pointed out that uniforms sold outside the school cost about Sh100, while those approved by the school were priced at around Sh300, a difference she said was too steep for many parents to manage.
Kerubo also urged the Ministry of Education and KNEC to rethink the placement system and especially call on authorities to post learners to schools near their home counties.
“Some parents are not financially stable, especially those who had prepared to take their children to day schools near home,” she said. “When they are posted far from home, it means extra cost on them and strain on their families.”
While school administrators said the admission exercise is going smoothly, the Senior Master, Gerald Odundo, said this has been largely true except for minor challenges over transfers and vulnerable learners.
“By mid-morning, we had admitted about 250 students, and we expect that number to rise to nearly 700 by the end of today, which will be our full capacity. Overall, the exercise is running smoothly, and we are addressing the few challenges that have arisen.”
As admissions continue across the county, parents are clamouring for clearer guides, but with very cheap requirements to ease the transition of learners to senior secondary education.
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