Thousands of learners in various schools across the country risk being sent home beginning next week after the government failed to disburse adequate capitation.
This is after the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) expressed its disappointment at the persistent delays in disbursing capitation for the second term.
The head teachers lamented that the delayed disbursement of over Ksh21 billion left several institutions grappling with mounting debts and forced them to make difficult decisions about resource allocation.
While addressing the press on Saturday, May 3, the school administrators detailed how delayed funding had begun undermining the stability of their schools, affecting essential operations, from administrative processes to maintenance of critical facilities.
"On issues touching on government funding, at times when there is a delay, it normally affects our services, for instance, there is a delay in paying for services from suppliers, which at times makes them not supply in time," said a teacher.
"The delay in disbursing the capitation sometimes affects the performance of our schools. What we want to urge the government is to fast-track the release of the capitation to schools."
The latest development comes just a day after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the government's plan to disburse Ksh21 billion as capitation to public schools next week.
Speaking in Naivasha during the Naivasha Education Conference on May 2, Ogamba said the funds would go a long way in helping school heads plan for the second term, which kicked off on Monday this week.
Ogamba attributed the delays in releasing the funds to the government's limited resources, adding that about 30 per cent of the national budget is normally allocated to the education sector.
"Some of the government-funded programmes, as you already know, are extremely costly. As a result, we have on some occasions lagged in the disbursement of capitation funds to schools,” Ogamba noted.
While addressing the matter, the Education Minister also warned school heads against charging extra levies, stating that the Ministry does not allow extra charges by schools.
The delays in releasing the crucial funds have since created uncertainty about the future stability of public education, particularly at a time when the government is grappling with challenges in implementing Competency-Based Education.
