- New survey shows the average cost of school fees and educating a child in Kenya has increased to $484.
- Rising inflation and supply chain disruption-related costs are impacting various sectors, including education.
- Poor families across are grappling with not only increase in school fees but also higher food and commodities costs.
A new annual survey has revealed that school fees and education-related expenses in Kenya have now surged to a level that exceeds the income of many households by ten times.
According to a survey by WorldRemit, a digital remittances firm, the average cost of school fees and educating a child in Kenya has increased to $484.
This report points out that this is emerging as a significant increase in costs highlighting the immense challenges families face raising school feeds for their children.
When considering the average household size of 3.23 individuals, the total cost per household is estimated at $1562. This effectively surpasses the country’s per capita income, which stands at $1203.9, as per the 2023 economic survey.
The findings points to rising inflation and higher costs related to supply chain disruptions impacting various sectors. Such rise in costs is pushing up the overall increase in costs in economies across Africa. Consequently, this rise in education expenses is expected to serve one for the chin for low-income households. Poor families across are grappling with not only increase in school fees but also higher food and commodities costs.
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Private vs public schools in Kenya
The study, which was conducted in 21 global markets, shows that both private and international schools in Kenya have raised school fees significantly this year. The learning institutions are citing higher inflation for the increment.
For instance, annual school fees for a mid-size private primary school in Kenya increased to $528, compared to $493 in 2022. Similarly, fees for international schools rose to an average of $6336 from $5913 last year.
While school fees and expenses continue to rise, household incomes remain stagnant, with no significant change since 2018. The Economic Survey 2022 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that the average monthly basic minimum wages in urban areas like Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu remained at $150 in 2022.
Stagnant income situation results in significant financial strain for families. Across the country, a substantial portion of earnings are dedicated to school fees and education expenses. For example, a family with a monthly income of $211 and one child spends at least $162 on education. This leaves just $49 to cover other basic needs.
Impact of cost of living
Furthermore, the high cost of living has been persisting since the previous year, remaining above the National Treasury’s ceiling of 7.5 per cent for inflation. Kenya’s inflation declined to 7.3 per cent in July from 8.7 per cent in June. This was largely due to drop in food prices owing to favourable weather. However impact of Ukraine-Russia crisis continue to negatively impact energy and food prices locally.
The survey also revealed interesting trends in other countries with higher monthly incomes. In Canada, the UK, and Australia, people experienced nominal decreases in the percentage of income allocated for education.
Global Outlook
However, France and Spain saw noticeable increases, with French families expected to allocate five per cent of their monthly budget this year to education. In Spain families will allocate seven per cent more than the previous year on basic school supplies. Globally, there have been significant cost changes in education, with yearly increases averaging 78 per cent.
While almost all countries in the study reported higher costs, specific items experienced drastic increases. For instance, in Australia, the cost of a case of 12 pencils increased over four times compared to the previous year. In India, the cost of notebooks became almost six times as expensive as in 2022.
