Students in public secondary schools will not be allowed to transfer schools mid-year, the Education Ministry has said.
Director of Secondary Education Paul Kibet said parents must wait until the end of the year before they can transfer their children to other public schools.
Speaking during the ongoing Kenya Secondary School Heads Association conference in Mombasa, Kibet urged Principals to adhere to the directive.
Kibet explained that transferring a student mid-year poses challenges for principals in reconciling school fee amounts. He also noted that some parents request refunds for school fees after moving their children to other schools during the academic year.
“This is Term Two but sadly I still see transfer letters lying around. The guideline on the transfer of learners is that it must be done at the end of the year, but if you are still signing, please desist from that. If a parent wants to transfer their son or daughter to your school, let them wait until the end of the year,” he said.
Kibet also told the Nation that the rule is contained in the transfer and admissions form.
“Check that form that has been used for many years. There is nothing new about this. See instruction 6,” he said.
The instruction reads: “No transfer shall be carried out in the middle of the year except those under special circumstances”.
To facilitate inter-school transfers in public schools, the transfer requests must be approved and signed by the sub-county director of education, the county director of education, and the director of secondary education or special programs.
Regarding the management of students’ indiscipline, Kibet said parents have been expressing concerns about deputy principals expelling their children.
“Deputy principals have no right to expel a child from school. Suspension of a student can only be undertaken by the principal and it shall not be done indefinitely. There is a procedure for handling students’ discipline as per the Education Regulations 2015. Please make sure that you follow the law,” he said.
The Ministry official also cautioned school heads against implementing discipline rules that have not received approval from the boards of management.
“BoMs must sit and come up with rules but they must have gone through public participation. .. We found a school telling a student to bring three roles of barbed wire, surely!” Kibet said.
