Parents demand deeper fee cuts by private schools

Parents of children enrolled in international private schools have called for a steeper reduction in tuition fees, citing financial strains related to the Coronavirus pandemic and the reduced interaction between learners and their teachers.

International and private schools have turned to online classes as their new term started Tuesday while others are scheduled to resume in the next two weeks.

Some institutions under the Kenya Association of International Schools (KAIS) and the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) had offered a fees reduction of between 10 to 50 percent because there is currently no physical interaction with the students and also to generate income as they race to remain afloat in the wake of the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Some also cited the fact that there are no meals and children are not using school infrastructure as the reason for the fees reduction.

However, parents at some of these schools have been calling for deeper reductions, citing the current difficult financial situation that many families are facing due to salary cuts and a slow down in business.

They argue that their financial challenges are the result of reduced incomes, terminated contracts and a general slowdown in business.

In a letter to their school’s management, parents under the Banda Concerned Parents group said they could not afford the fees being proposed by Banda School under the virtual learning education (VLE). The school had proposed a 20 to 30 percent reduction in fees.

“Most parents have seen their incomes fall very dramatically in recent weeks and have no idea when or if their finances will ever recover. Many have no safety net. Parents are being forced to make tough and distressing spending decisions and many are simply unable to meet the current fee proposals,” the letter states. “We request that a revised financial offer be presented to the parent body. A substantially greater reduction in the fees for the April term is expected”.

And at Kenton College Preparatory School, parents asked for a reduction of 40 to 50 percent, adding that most activities such as sports, practical lessons, learning materials, music, catering and trips that the school routinely offers will not be covered during the current school term, which will now be conducted mostly from home if at all.

Last month, the government announced a series of sweeping measures to slow down the spread of Covid-19, including closing borders, imposing a night curfew, restricting movement in some counties and suspension of passenger air travel, except cargo flights. As a result, nearly all sectors of the economy have been affected. As a result, many businesses have asked employees to take unpaid leave or accept lower pay, a move that has led to a reduction in consumer spending. Some parents said that with a large number of them being business owners, the crisis had prompted them consider withdrawing their children for the next term and pay a small amount to hold their places in school until the new year in September as they are unable to pay the proposed fees.

The various parents’ bodies further want a guarantee of a fee raise freeze for the 2020-21 academic year beginning September. They also want a pledge that fees will not rise higher than the rate of inflation thereafter. For Kenton, 54 percent of the parents called for a reduction in fees for the next two to three years. They also raised concern about involving them in online teaching sessions, especially for pupils in lower classes.

“For all parents, their greatest concern about the VLE is the very substantial parental involvement required. Essentially, one parent needs to give up any chance of paid employment in order to supervise their children’s teaching and learning,” parents of Banda School said.

“Parents are not trained teachers. This is additionally unsatisfactory and impractical when working parents are fully occupied trying to earn a living under the currently very difficult circumstances. For single parents, those with several children, limited devices, or for parents of children with special needs, this is a nearly impossible challenge.”

Parents of Rusinga School said that they have now been faced with additional expenses of providing infrastructure for e-learning. “We must upgrade or purchase items such as computers, printers, scanners, upgrade or change ISPs as well as reorganise or create a home-based work area conducive to our children for e-learning, allocation of devises for those that have more than one child, the content and timings of the lessons… we as parents believe that the discounts you have offered can be adjusted upwards so as to reflect this reality,” said a notice from Rusinga School parents to the management seen by the Business Daily.

Braeburn Schools has offered between 10 and 40 percent fees reduction depending on year of study. In a statement, the school acknowledged that some parents had left the institution while others were unable to pay fees due to the ongoing crisis.

The group has also waived the ‘One Term’s Notice’ for parents wishing to withdraw their children from the school temporarily during the period of remote teaching and learning. The institution has reported an incorporated fee reductions, voluntary salary reduction for all staff, reductions in operating expenses, extension of bank overdraft facilities and a halt on all capital expenditure for survival.