School fees are one of the biggest financial responsibilities for Kenyan families. The rising cost of education in Kenya under both Competency-Based Education (CBE) and international systems like International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) mostly due to the rising inflation and change in technology continue to exert financial pressure on parents. This write-up is meant to help parents on how to save for school fees in Kenya.
It is important as a parent to start planning early for the future education of your children. Do not start planning for school fees when it is too late when children are joining school at the most critical levels of education that demand a lot of school fees. Many parents struggle with school fees despite having stable incomes. There is a grave danger of relying on last-minute loans, chama contributions, or salary advances.
There are very structured, reliable, and efficient ways of building an education fund without financial strain. An education insurance policy is one of the most reliable long-term school fees planning solutions, as we shall see later on.
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Understanding the Real Cost of Education in Kenya
There are a number of reasons why school fees keep increasing. Some of the major contributors are:
- Inflation and rising operational costs in schools.
- Technological advancement and their introduction in schools.
- Increased demand for quality education.
- Additional expenses beyond tuition fees, such as activities charges.
- A liberal market that allows private and international schools to set their own school fees, leading to a difference in costs between public, private, and international schools.
I have covered in detail in another article about the estimated cost of education in Kenya, from birth to university level. I have carefully covered every level of education under both CBE and IGCSE curriculum systems, and we can conclude that education costs are one of the biggest expenses of Kenyan families. Lifetime education costs are in the north of millions.
Education costs are not just school fees. They include other related costs that parents often forget or ignore such as:
- School transport
- Shopping and uniforms
- Books and learning materials
- School trips and activities
- Examination fees
- Pocket money and technology gadgets
If you plan early and well, reviewing your saving plans with time, these costs are so easy to manage. However, many patients struggle so much with school fees and related costs. Some of the things that make parents struggle include:
- Waiting too late to start saving
- Depending on irregular income
- Using emergency savings for school fees
- Lack of a structured education fund e.g. an education insurance policy.
- Rising fees outpacing normal savings
I will keep on emphasizing, please plan well and early. The biggest difference between financially prepared parents and struggling parents is usually planning and consistency.
When Should Parents Start Saving for School Fees?
In another article, I have covered in detail when parents should start saving early for school fees.
When you start an education savings plan early everything works in your favour. You will enjoy:
- Smaller monthly contributions over time
- Power of compound growth
- Reduced financial pressure later
- More flexibility in choosing quality schools
This is why starting early matters. If you delay education planning you will face:
- Higher monthly saving requirements later
- Increased dependence on loans
- Reduced investment growth period
- Higher stress during admission periods
The best time of starting an education plan is:
- Before the child is born
- Immediately after birth
- During preschool years
Is it too late to start when the child is older? Find out by reading this article about the best time to start saving for your children’s education.
Let us now cover how to save for school fees in Kenya, focusing on the best education savings plans.
Best Ways Kenya Parents Save for School Fees in Kenya.
- Education Insurance Policies:
Education insurance policies are the best way for saving for the future school fees of your children. Good examples of strong education policy are Boresha Elimu and Msingi Poa.
Why do education insurance policies stand out? An education insurance policy is an endowment policy meaning it combines a savings plan with elements of life protection.
What does that mean? It means that the regular contributions you make, either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly, return significant savings returns especially on Long savings period while at the same time some money goes to protecting your life against unforeseen/unfortunate events of permanent disability due to accident or illness and death.
That means if the policyholder becomes permanently disabled due to an accident or illness or death, the future education of their children is guaranteed. Education policies ensure that the maturity payments/bonuses are paid as agreed in the contract.
When these unfortunate events occur, the policyholder stops paying the premiums/contributions and an insurance company pays instead up to maturity for the sake of the children’s education. Cool, right?
How education insurance policies help parents save consistently? They ensure:
- Forced saving discipline
- Long-term structured financial planning
- Reduced temptation to withdraw funds
- Automatic saving culture
An education insurance policy beats a normal or other savings plan because:
- It instils discipline and commitment
- Long-term growth potential
- Life protection benefits/risk management advantages through insurance protection
- Accessibility differences
- Structured payout timelines
- Stability and predictability
- Long-term goal alignment
Unlike ordinary savings methods, education insurance policies combine disciplined saving with financial growth and protection for the child’s future.
Use this education insurance policy calculator to help you plan.
Other Common Ways Kenyan Parents Save for School Fees
- Regular Savings Account
A regular savings account is where you put your money in a bank savings account hoping to pay future school fees with the money. The only problem with a regular savings account is that money hardly grows and saving discipline may never be there leading to insufficient education funds.
The only advantage with a regular savings account is savings accessibility since you can get the money at any time you need, and this is the biggest enemy of building an education fund.
- Sacco Savings
Sacco savings is another way to build an education fund.
Money saved in a sacco generates dividends and at the same time, you can access a loan, mostly 3 times your savings.
The biggest enemy in building a sufficient and a guaranteed education fund is the easy accessibility of your savings and the lack of risk or life protection.
- Chamas and Group Savings
Chamas and group savings are what we call merry-go-round savings schemes.
They are important because they instill a savings discipline and you will access your savings when your turn comes, in the near future.
However, your money does not generate savings returns. You get a coin for a coin and since they are not strictly structured, how you can lose your money.
- Fixed deposit accounts
Fixed deposit accounts also help saving for school.
The only challenge is that they typically have low return rates and they have zero life protection.
They do not guarantee the future education of your children
- Money Market Funds
A money market fund helps you grow an education fund through interest rates.
Your money grows overtime and performs so well when the economic environment is good.
However, in the case of a lagging economy, money growth is not guaranteed. Again, they do not instill a savings discipline and the accessibility of the savings is a big enemy in building a future education fund.
- Other methods of saving for future school fees include investing in land, real estate, and side businesses for additional income
These methods are good for investing for the future, but not for education. They heavily rely on the performance of the economy and they carry a lot of risk.
For example, if you start a side business the probability of it succeeding to generate income that you can eventually save may take long and sometimes such businesses ask for more capital injections.
If it is an asset such as land, you may face liquidity issues when school fees fall due.
Most traditional saving methods help parents accumulate money, but they may not guarantee disciplined long-term education planning. I highly recommend an education insurance policy for building an education fund.
How Much Should Parents Save for School Fees?
The amount of money a parent needs to save for the future education costs depends on a lot of factors.
The factors include:
- The type of school you want your children to join.
- Child’s current age.
- Inflation expectations.
- Local (CBE) or international education (IGCSE) goals.
This article will guide on how much you need to save to secure the future education of your children.
Mistakes Parents Make When Saving for School Fees
When building an education fund for the future, avoid making the following mistakes:
- Avoid starting an education plan late. This will exert a lot of financial pressure on you, pushing you to emergency borrowing risks.
- Avoid relying entirely on your salary. It may not be enough and life has a lot of unexpected turns that might bring income disruptions.
- Avoid mixing school fees savings with daily expenses as this might reduce savings discipline and difficulty in tracking progress.
- Ignoring inflation hence underestimating future education costs. Your savings might become insufficient.
- Not having financial protection like the one in education insurance policies. You should ask yourself, what happens after death or disability?
- Avoid choosing savings plans without long-term structure. Savings plans without long-term structure allow easy withdrawals, unpredictable growth, and lack of commitment.
Many parents fail to achieve education goals because they save casually instead of using structured long-term planning solutions.
Practical Tips for Successfully Building an Education Fund
To consistently build an education fund for the future, you need to do the following:
- Automate your savings by introducing standing orders, mobile money automation, or salary deductions via check-off deductions.
- Separate education savings from emergency savings/funds. It is good to establish financial boundaries for better planning discipline.
- Increase your contributions over time, adjusting with your income growth.
- Review your plan every few years. This will help adjust for inflation, changing education goals, and tracking progress.
- Combine multiple strategies. If your income allows, besides having education insurance policies, also build sacco and money market fund savings. They help you with financial diversification, supplementing each other.
Education insurance policies stand out because they combine savings, investment growth, and financial protection in one solution.
Start early. Parents who start early, save consistently, and choose the right education policy place themselves in a much stronger financial position for the future school fees.
Even if you are late in saving for your children’s future education, the best time to start building their education fund is now, regardless of their current age.
