By Jabali Digital
Seme Member of Parliament (MP) James Nyikali and St. Jerome Emiliano Preparatory School volunteer director Elly Opondo have faulted government's proposed Sh3,000 lunch levy on junior secondary school (JSS) learners per term, warning that it risks placing an unbearable burden on parents.
Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony and marking the school’s 5th anniversary on Saturday, the MP said the proposal which is yet to be presented to Parliament comes on the backdrop of families grappling with underfunded secondary and university education systems.
“You know these same parents, they have children in junior school, they have children in secondary school, they have children in university, and they are struggling all too. Our university funding is working but has not worked very well. The secondary school funding, the capitation is not working very well,” said Nyikal.
The legislature promised to formally raise the matter when Parliament resumes after the Christmas and new year break.
His sentiments were echoed by Elly Opondo, a renowned peace mobiliser who stated that many children especially in rural areas risk dropping out of school if the proposal is eventually implemented.
“Sh3,000 is too much for the local mwananchi and especially in junior secondary. And in fact, most parents have five to six kids in the junior secondary or primary section,” he said.
“If you again force them to pay Sh3,000, the majority of the kids, instead of learning, they are under trees. Or they are being sent home,” added Opondo.
At their centre in Ramula, Seme, they run various community-centered initiatives, including a school feeding program, a girls’ empowerment project targeting teenage mothers who receive tailoring training and a scholarship program targeting bright learners from needy backgrounds.
Under the school feeding project, they are supporting between 240-280 children from the preparatory and two neighbouring schools with hot lunchtime meals five days a week, with support from corporate and individual sponsors.
“Big impact is achieved through low-cost donations. It is easy for one to donate less than a dollar to feed a hungry child,” he said.
According to his calculations, Sh40-45 is spent on a child per day, translating to over Sh8,846 per child per year. That means a total of Sh2.3 million goes into the school feeding program per year.
The school feeding program started five years ago after an Asian community mobilised resources and appreciated him with over Sh300,000 for a role he played in ensuring peaceful co-existence during one of Kenya’s post-election skirmishes.
His family donated the land that hosted the school feeding program, before transitioning into a school well on course to producing the first grade 6 class in 2026.
Opondo said through donations, they are also coming up with a level three health facility that will become operational by February 2026. The facility will offer low-cost health services to the locals.
And with the school feeding program, education and health needs increasing on a daily basis, Elly urged well-wishers from within and without to continue extending their support for the well-being of the community.
