Hotline For Parents To Report Public Schools in Kenya

Is your child enrolled in a public school that charges more than the set fee by the government? Are you probably wondering where you can report such extortion without jeopardizing your child’s stay in that school?

Well, worry no more.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi launched a toll free number 0800720940 in October 2015 that you can call for free and report the matter to the Ministry of Education anonymously.

Prof Kaimenyi on Thursday October 15 asked members of the public to use the number and report cases of extortion in schools, charging for holiday tuition or misappropriation of funds at the school level.

The number is an initiative of education-centred civil society group Elimu Yetu Coalition that brings together NGOs dealing in education.

It is aimed at bringing transparency and and improving accountability of public school resources.

The education sector has been hit by one of the biggest corruption scandals in the country where school managers and headteachers would collude with officials at the Ministry of Education to embezzle free education funds.

“Parents and other education stakeholders, and of course civil society organisations such as Elimu Yetu Coalition must wake up to put us to account,” Prof Kaimenyi told the coalition general meeting held at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

The coalition’s boss Muthoni Ouko said they had received many cases of arbitrary school fee increase as well as plunder of resources in public schools.

This necessitated the need to have a hotline where such cases could be reported to authorities.

“Some do not put the levies on the fees structures but they still push parents to pay,” said Muthoni.

“A toll free centre will give Kenyans a platform to provide information freely on the adherence of schools to guidelines and policies of the ministry. We believe that citizens have a key role to play in making the right to education