Black Tax and School Fees: How Young Professionals Can Support Their Younger Siblings

This reality explains why education planning has become increasingly important for young professionals who support their siblings’ academic journeys. Rather than waiting until a school opens its doors and sends a fee reminder, many are turning to structured solutions that help them prepare in advance. Jubilee Life’s Smart Scholar education plan is one such solution because it combines long-term savings with financial protection, allowing individuals to systematically build an education fund for a child while safeguarding that child’s future against life’s uncertainties.

The need for such planning has become more apparent in recent years because the financial demands of education have expanded beyond traditional tuition fees. Today, school-going children require uniforms, textbooks, transport, digital learning tools, project materials, and numerous other resources that place additional strain on family budgets. As a result, many employed siblings find themselves allocating a growing portion of their salary toward educational expenses while simultaneously trying to achieve their own financial goals.

In Kenya, the burden commonly referred to as black tax is not merely a social media conversation but a lived reality for thousands of young adults. A graduate working in Nairobi may be helping a younger sibling through secondary school in Bungoma, while an accountant in Mombasa may be contributing toward university fees for a brother or sister back home. In some cases, young professionals support more than one sibling at the same time, which makes education planning even more critical. Although this responsibility reflects the strength of family bonds that characterize Kenyan society, it can also make it difficult to save, invest, or plan without a structured financial approach.

The transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) has added another dimension to this challenge because families are increasingly expected to cater for practical learning activities, projects, and pathway-based educational requirements. As Kenya prepares learners for specialized pathways at Senior School level, concerns about affordability have continued to dominate discussions among parents and guardians. Education officials have acknowledged public concerns regarding the cost implications associated with Grade 10 transition and the broader implementation of the curriculum.

The financial challenges surrounding Grade 10 admissions highlighted an issue that many young professionals already understood well: educational success is often influenced by financial readiness as much as academic performance. Across the country, stories emerged of learners who had earned admission opportunities but struggled to report because their families could not raise the required funds. One widely reported case involved a top-performing learner who chose to repeat Grade 9 after failing to secure the fees necessary to join Grade 10, despite qualifying for admission.

These events resonated with many employed siblings because they demonstrated how quickly educational opportunities can be disrupted when adequate preparation is lacking. A young professional may have every intention of supporting a sibling’s education, but if that support depends entirely on monthly income, unexpected expenses can easily derail those plans. Medical emergencies, job losses, business setbacks, or rising living costs can suddenly create financial gaps that affect a child’s educational progress.

This is why relying solely on last-minute payments is becoming increasingly risky. While borrowing from friends, taking short-term loans, or organizing family fundraisers may solve immediate challenges, these approaches rarely provide lasting financial stability. Education is a long-term commitment, and therefore it requires a long-term strategy.

Jubilee Smart Scholar addresses this challenge by providing a structured platform through which parents, guardians, and even older siblings can build an education fund over time. The plan allows policyholders to make regular contributions while earning annual bonuses, and upon maturity, the policy pays the sum assured together with accumulated bonuses. This creates a dedicated pool of funds that can be used to support future education expenses.

What makes Smart Scholar particularly valuable for individuals supporting siblings is that it offers more than savings. The plan includes protection benefits designed to ensure that a child’s education remains secure even if the policyholder dies or becomes permanently disabled. In such circumstances, future premiums are waived while the policy continues, helping protect the educational aspirations that the contributor worked hard to support.

For many successful Kenyans, the opportunity to pursue education existed because a sibling stepped in when help was needed most. Some were supported through secondary school, while others received assistance during university when family resources were stretched thin. Those sacrifices often transformed not only individual lives but also the economic future of entire families. Consequently, supporting a younger sibling’s education should not be viewed merely as another monthly expense because it represents an investment in future opportunities, economic mobility, and generational progress.

Although black tax is often discussed as a burden, it can also become a powerful force for social and family transformation when approached strategically. Young professionals who plan are better positioned to meet educational obligations without compromising their own financial wellbeing, and they are also more likely to provide consistent support throughout a child’s academic journey.

Ultimately, the goal is not simply to pay the next school fee invoice but to create a sustainable pathway that allows younger siblings to pursue their dreams without interruption. By using a dedicated education planning solution such as Jubilee Smart Scholar, young professionals can move beyond reactive school fee payments and begin building a secure educational future for those who depend on them. In a country where education remains one of the most powerful tools for changing lives, that may be one of the most meaningful investments a person can ever make.