Machogu, headteachers differ on Sh11 billion capitation for term 1
Machogu, headteachers differ on Sh11 billion capitation for term 1
Machogu, headteachers differ on Sh11 billion capitation for term 1
Due to a protracted financial crisis that might potentially cause operational disruptions, secondary schools nationwide today run the risk of losing up to Sh11 billion that was intended to fund institution operations.
This is happening while the Ministry of Education and the tutors read from separate scripts regarding the budgetary situation.
The school heads voiced their dissatisfaction last week, claiming that the Ministry had not only been slow to provide financing for the second term, but had also not provided the entire amount allocated for the first term, amounting to almost Sh11 billion in arrears.
However, Ezekiel Machogu, the cabinet secretary for education, disproved the school leaders on Thursday, stating that elementary and secondary schools had already received the full amount of the first term’s capitation.
“No school is closing because all of our primary and secondary schools have received the 50% capitation,” Machogu stated.
The government provides a total of Sh22,244 annually for every student in public secondary schools.
It is distributed in three tranches with 50 per cent of the funds given in first term, 30 per cent in second term and the remaining 20 per cent in third term.
Headteachers say the amount received for first term were less than 50 per cent.
With the total amount of funding to secondary schools being Sh22,244, the heads indicate they were supposed to get Sh11,000 per student.
A document by KESSHA titled Free Secondary Education Capitation, 2024, shows the Ministry released capitation of Sh8,319.68 per learner for first term.
“Therefore, a balance of Sh2,802.32 is still owing,” the document reads.
However, the CS said that the amount the ministry was planning to release is the 30 per cent meant for second term.
Accordingly, the institutions risk losing the Sh2,802 that each student receives.
With 4.1 million students enrolled in public secondary schools, the country’s roughly 10,000 secondary schools were intended to receive Sh11 billion.
“So what we are going to distribute this particular month is another 30 per cent for second term,” said Machogu.
Speaking at the Kenya School of Government, he oversaw the official launch of the fourth National Education Sector Strategic Plan, which will direct the Ministry’s efforts to ensure that all Kenyans have access to, and get high-quality education and training throughout the course of the following five years.
According to the proposal, the government will require more than Sh4 trillion to fund education over the course of the next five years.
For the past five years, secondary schools have been plagued by underfunding.
The institutions are owed Sh54 billion in capitation arrears, according to a petition that was brought before the National Assembly committee on education in December of last year.
The money was amassed from 2018 until 2023.
Belion Kipsang, the principal secretary for basic education, acknowledged in March that the capitation per pupil for free secondary schooling had been cut from Sh22,224 to Sh17,000.
This indicates that the institutions were getting a capitation payment per learner of Sh5,000 less.
Kipsang stated that even though the allocated budget of Sh65 billion remained the same, the amount was decreased because of the growing number of learners.
He was speaking before the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.
