Kenyan gov't to meet secondary school tuition next year: president

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced on Tuesday his government will meet the cost of tuition in all public secondary schools in the east African country from next year.

Consequently, Kibaki said parents will only be required to meet the other running costs other than tuition, saying this will reduce the fees paid by parents significantly.

Addressing the nation from Uhuru Park, Nairobi, during celebrations to mark this year's Labor Day, the president said the Kenyan government has taken the step at a cost of 4.3 billion Kenyan shillings (about 61.4 million U.S. dollars) in order to reduce the cost of secondary education in accordance with the promises it made to Kenyans.

"In addition, the government has reviewed the cost of the running of all secondary schools in order to reduce the cost burden to the poor households," Kibaki said.

The president said this is in line with the government's policy to extend basic education from eight to 12 years as articulated in the Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005.

He directed the minister for education to issue new fees guidelines for the Calendar Year 2008, saying his government has taken these steps in order to ensure that majority of the children in primary schools transit to secondary schools.

"This will provide them with the knowledge and skills required for the realization of the Vision 2030. In addition, quality secondary education will make Kenya globally competitive," Kibaki said.

In the higher education sub-sector, he assured Kenyans that his government will soon announce major changes which are intended to expand access and improve quality of university education and training.

In this regard, the president called on all those involved to embrace the reforms so that the country can produce quality human capital for the national economy.

Source: Xinhua