Govt Announces Uniform Fees for All Students in Public Secondary Schools

Hello and welcome to the Money News Roundup Newsletter, where we cover the new fee structure for senior secondary schools. We also cover Treasury's admission on the shilling being undervalued.

Govt Unveils School Fees for Senior Secondary Schools 

Parents with children joining public boarding senior secondary schools will now pay a uniform annual fee of Ksh53,554 under new Ministry of Education guidelines

As reported by Citizen Digital, the released guidelines scrap the previous classification of secondary schools based on facilities and location, placing all senior schools at the same level and charging standardized fees.

The guidelines will take effect in January 2026 and outline the learning, teaching, and administrative structure for the new senior school system. Learners who sat the inaugural KJSEA and selected their preferred career pathways will be placed in public or private schools, whether day, boarding, or hybrid.

In Grade 10, students will study seven subjects: three core areas—English, Kiswahili, and Mathematics (either core or applied, depending on their STEM, arts, or humanities pathway). A new community service learning component will also be introduced, while the remaining three subjects will align with the learner’s chosen pathway.

Students will attend eight 40-minute lessons per day, totaling 40 per week. 

In terms of management, schools will establish audit committees for routine financial reviews, and governance will include parents’ associations and student councils. 

The government is expected to release Grade 10 placement guidelines after the assessment results.

Treasury Admits Shilling is Undervalued, Raising Tension with IMF 

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has admitted that the shilling is undervalued, saying it could trade at Ksh118 to the dollar if left to float freely amid strong forex inflows.

His remarks imply State intervention to keep the currency weak, putting Kenya at odds with the IMF, which insists on a freely traded exchange rate. 

The shilling has remained unusually stable at around Ksh129 this year, despite global shifts. 

Mbadi cited improved remittances, tourism earnings, and exports as support for the currency. As reported by the Business Daily, analysts say the Central Bank may be buying dollars to hold the shilling down. 

A weaker shilling helps exporters but fuels higher import costs and dollar-denominated debt servicing, a key concern for Kenya.

KPA Withholds Ksh6.2B SGR Revenue, Causes Kenya Railways to Default in Loan Repayment 

As reported in the Business Daily, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) retained Ksh6.2 billion from Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) freight revenue, causing Kenya Railways to default on its loan repayment.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, in her report, revealed that under the Take-or-Pay agreement, KPA was required to collect and remit SGR revenue monthly into an escrow account, but instead withheld funds to cater for possible tariff refunds—an action not provided for in the contract. 

Between July 2023 and December 2024, KPA collected Ksh22 billion and remitted Ksh16 billion. The retention left Kenya Railways unable to service part of its Ksh569 billion on-lent SGR loans. 

The audit further shows Kenya Railways is not generating enough revenue to meet repayment obligations, with only two SGR phases completed.

Court Blocks Mandatory Write-Off of KUSCCO Losses for SACCOS

SACCOS have been spared from immediately writing off billions lost in the Sh13.3 billion KUSCCO fraud after the High Court quashed a Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) directive requiring mandatory provisioning in line with accounting rules.

The court ruled the guideline was rushed, lacked public participation, and was therefore unconstitutional. 

SASRA had ordered SACCOS to set aside funds for expected losses and reduce dividends to protect liquidity, sparking fears of dividend cuts for members who have enjoyed 8–10% annual payouts.

As reported in the Business Daily, Nyati Sacco, which risks losing Ksh86 million, challenged the directive. While some SACCOS had already made full or partial provisions, the court said this did not validate the order. 

KUSCCO is insolvent by Ksh12.5 billion, with PwC audits revealing financial manipulation, theft, conflicts of interest, and falsified profits.

Govt to Issue 2 Bonds in November in Plans to Raise Ksh170B

Kenya will issue bonds this month to raise Ksh170 billion ($1.32 billion) to pay road contractors and refinance a short-term loan, Treasury Secretary John Mbadi has announced.

The move is part of a broader plan, following lawmakers’ approval to securitise a fuel-import tax to raise Ksh300 billion for road projects. 

The government has already repaid Ksh93 billion after taking a Ksh104 billion bridging loan from lenders, including TDB, KCB, and Absa. Part of the new bond proceeds will retire that loan.

Pending bills owed to contractors, suppliers, and pension funds stood at Ksh525.9 billion by June, hurting businesses and slowing growth. 

As reported by Bloomberg, Mbadi said that the recent payments boosted the construction sector by 5.9%. The IMF and World Bank support the securitization plan.

DStv Cuts Decoder Prices After Losing 1M Subscribers 

MultiChoice Kenya has cut decoder prices by up to Ksh349 in a bid to stem declining subscriptions. 

The DStv HD Zapper now costs Ksh850, down from Ksh1,199, while GOtv decoders have been reduced to Ksh799 from Ksh999, with the offer running until December 31, 2025. Installation accessories have also been discounted. 

The move comes as the pay-TV firm battles a sharp drop in users, with DStv’s active subscriber base falling 80% to 188,824 in the year to June 2025, amid rising costs and widespread streaming sites. 

The firm recently raised package prices for the fifth time in under three years. The decoder price cuts mark the first major step since Canal+ acquired a 94.39% stake in MultiChoice Group. Read more.

Report Reveals How Much Men and Women Would Earn for Unpaid Work at Home

An inaugural report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that if unpaid work were paid for, each Kenyan woman aged 15 and above would earn Ksh118,845 per year, compared to Ksh22,676 for men. 

Women’s unpaid labour is valued at Ksh1.89 trillion annually, more than five times men’s Ksh353.89 billion, bringing the total to Ksh2.423 trillion—equivalent to 23.1% of Kenya’s 2021 GDP.

The report highlights that women shoulder the bulk of unpaid care work, such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare. In 2021, women performed 25.8 billion hours of unpaid work, compared to men’s 4.8 billion hours. Food preparation alone accounted for Ksh1.073 trillion of women’s unpaid work versus men’s Ksh157 billion. Other major areas include laundry and clothing care, home cleaning, childcare, and household shopping.

KNBS compiled the data using the Time Use Survey and assigned market wage equivalents to unpaid tasks. Read more from the Business Daily.