The Gerehu Secondary School in the nation’s capital has advised that for this year, thanks to the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy (GTFS), they will not be charging any project fees for parents.
School principal, Mr. Besoko Aguna stated that the Ministry of Education has already made it clear that all public schools will be paid the GTFS, and adds that this may differ from school to school whether or not they would like to charge project fees.
Aguna said for Gerehu though, they will not be imposing any form of project fees.
“For our students, they are just waiting for the day for them to register and then they can come to school and do so.”
He said although the schools can be able to charge project fees, this can only be vetoed by the parents and the school board at annual Parent & Teacher conferences, but they cannot charge more than K220.
“It depends on the P&C, how they meet and agree to the amount. If parents agree to an amount then it can be vetoed by the school. Unless they don’t attend P&C meetings, then you see this doubt.”
Meanwhile, as the 1-6-6 school structure is slowly but surely being introduced into the Public Schooling System, Gerehu Secondary School is no exception to it.
With 1 class of Grade 7 being added to the school last year, the school is looking to add another two more classes after their initial success with the first one last year.
Aguna said that it was quite exciting and he is looking forward to seeing the school expand. He added that the structure is reminiscent of the school structure in the early days post-independence.
“It’s almost like the old system their trying to bring back but under a new system.”
This will see the number of students in the school to increase twofold from last year.
At the moment, Gerehu Secondary is one of the largest schools in the country, alongside Badiagwa Technical Secondary and Kilakila Secondary School.