By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 3 June 2026 - Parents of students at Ambira Boys High School are facing a heavy financial burden after the institution imposed a mandatory KSh 33,000 levy on every learner following a destructive student unrest that left school infrastructure in ruins.
The charge, which school authorities say is aimed at helping restore damaged facilities, has sparked quiet outrage among parents, many of whom are struggling with the rising cost of living and school expenses.
In a notice issued after a Board of Management (BOM) meeting chaired by Eliud Owino, the school announced that all students must pay the penalty before they are readmitted. Failure to comply, the notice warned, would result in a learner being denied re-admission.
The decision followed the indefinite closure of the school on May 19 after students went on a rampage, vandalising key facilities and causing extensive destruction across the institution.
According to the school, a multi-agency team comprising government officials and technical experts conducted an assessment of the damage. The report by the Public Works Department reportedly placed the cost of repairs at KSh 50 million.
"Following the closure of the school on 19 May 2026 due to student unrest that left several infrastructures seriously damaged, the Board of Management and the multi-agency team met and resolved as follows," part of the notice stated.
The school outlined a phased reopening programme, with Grade 10 students reporting on 2 June 2026, Form Four candidates on 8 June 2026 and Form Three learners on 11 June 2026.
Beyond the KSh 33,000 levy, students have been instructed to report with a long list of requirements including copies of birth certificates, previous examination result slips, boarding equipment, boxes, mattresses, bed sheets, uniforms, personal belongings, academic notes, files, textbooks and mathematical sets.
The cumulative cost has left many parents alarmed.
Several parents who spoke privately for fear of victimisation said the demands were excessive and had come at a time when families were still recovering from economic hardships.
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Others questioned how the KSh 50 million figure was arrived at and whether parents were being unfairly made to shoulder the entire burden of the destruction.
The controversy has also fuelled speculation within the community, with some parents quietly alleging that schools could be taking advantage of unrest-related crises to raise additional revenue under the guise of reconstruction.
No evidence has been produced to support those claims, and school management has maintained that the levy is directly linked to the documented cost of repairs.
The unfolding dispute highlights a growing dilemma facing schools across Kenya whenever student unrest erupts.
While institutions argue that damaged infrastructure must be repaired quickly to restore learning, parents increasingly want greater transparency on how recovery costs are calculated and shared.
For now, hundreds of families find themselves trapped between two difficult choices: paying a hefty levy they can scarcely afford or risking their children's exclusion from school as the new term resumes.
The debate is likely to intensify as parents demand answers over who should ultimately bear the cost of one of the most expensive school unrest incidents in recent years.
Some anonymous parents asked the ministry of Education to intervene now to help review the hefty levies levied on them.