Gov’t rules out holiday tuition amidst rising cases of student unrest

Education CS Amina Mohamed has ruled out holiday tuition by schools. This comes in the wake of recent cases of student unrest that have continued to rock the country, leaving over a dozen schools closed.

The recent wave of school strikes has reportedly led to a number of schools contemplating holiday tuition to recover lost time.

The CS spoke after addressing a Joint Meeting of County ECDE Teachers’ Representatives and Stakeholders, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) on Thursday.

She said government policy and regulations stated that the teaching of learners during school holidays is illegal.

The Basic Education Act outlaws holiday tuition where schools provide tuition during April, August and December Holidays at a fee.

CS Amina said the ministry will continue to support pre-primary education in the country, saying focus will be on strengthening coordination between the Ministry and County Government ECD structures.

“Research has shown that early childhood is a critical stage of human development as it forms the foundation for holistic development of children and their later achievement in life,” she said.

She said the government was working on the finalization of the quality standard guidelines, dissemination of the National pre-primary education policy, development of the National competence based assessment tool and review of teacher education curriculum.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Wilson Sossion expressed the need to integrated ECD in basic education saying it would ensure providing of quality early childhood education to learners.