School heads in Kiambu County have been warned against conducting holiday tuition.
Speaking in his office on Wednesday, Kiambu Sub-County Education Officer, Harrison Muriuki said the government had outlawed tuition for learners across the country and any school found flouting the rule will face disciplinary action.
Muriuki said that remedial teaching was meant to aid specific learners who had weaknesses in certain areas but unscrupulous teachers had turned the project into cash cow where they forced all learners to attend the classes at a fee.
“This will not be allowed as it breaches the government directive. Tuition is forbidden in schools,” said Muriuki.
However, some parents in the region felt that the government was being inconsiderate of their plight saying that matters of education should be left for the parents as they know what is best for their children.
Alice Mbethi, a parent with a child in a private school, said that parents who were willing to pay to have their children be taught over the holiday should be allowed to do it claiming that it all boiled down to the final result that the learner will achieve.
She claimed that the directive by the ministry of education would only work towards disadvantaging the poor learners and said that parents were driven by the desire to help their children achieve a better future by ensuring they got the best in education.
“Tuition is not a punishment. I know that my daughter needs to be in school to have a better future. What use will her education be if she gets a long break and fails in her final exam?” said Mbethi.
Muriuki however, insisted that children had the right to rest, and neither parents nor teachers would be allowed to exploit them in the guise of helping them achieve educational excellence through forced tuition.