Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has said payment for lunch fees for Junior Secondary School learners is not mandatory.
Appearing before the National Assembly on June 7, Machogu clarified guidelines 8.6 (i) and 8.6 (iii) of the Implementation of Junior Secondary School education on the provision of meals.
Guideline 8.6 (i) states that "Provision of school meals in JSS shall be the responsibility of the parents/guardians" while (iii) states that "The JSS leadership shall ensure that no learner drops out of school as a result of failure to pay the lunch programme fees."
The CS noted that the two clauses did not contradict each other, saying in clause (i), parents could either decide to pay fees for the provision of lunch at school or pack lunch for their children.
"What normally happens is that the Board of Management convenes a meeting comprising of the parents of that particular school and after discussing and agreeing on a figure that each parent is supposed to pay towards the provision of lunch to their young ones, then they pay that," he said.
"It is not mandatory, it is optional. There are parents who say yes, I'm not going to pay, I will be able to provide such that my child can carry food from home to school."
He was responding to questions by Teso South MP Mary Emaase, who sought to know how the Ministry of Education was addressing the guidelines under the two clauses.
She further inquired about the measures taken to ensure that the children whose parents could not afford the lunch fee remained in school and got nutritious meals.
"Considering that Guideline No. 8.6(iii) obligates the leadership of JSS to ensure that no child drops out of school as a result of failure to pay lunch fees, which in most schools is nearly Sh15,000," Emaase explained.
In response, Machogu said the Ministry was working to ensure that schools served all learned who lacked lunch.
"They are actually accommodated in that arrangement. The number who is not able to pay is not actually that big," he said.
The CS added that in some of the schools he had visited, he had shared lunch with the learners, including those who had not paid for the meal.
