Education Ministry Releases Ksh9.3 Billion to Avert Crisis 

h
Education CS George Magoha addresses the Maseno Graduation class of 2020 on April 30, 2021
Twitter

The Education Ministry has released Ksh9.3 billion to fund the free education program - a bid that has averted a crisis after the uproar from school heads over the financial constraints in schools.

According to Education CS George Magoha, Ksh2.8 billion will go to primary schools while Ksh6.5 billion will be allocated to secondary schools.

Headteachers had decried the financial crisis in schools stating that the government should release more capitation funds in order to keep the school functions running.

x
Kenyan school girls at an event in 2018
File

Led by Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli, they had warned Magoha that the education sector may crumble due to the financial crisis.

"We have not received the money and principals who have spoken with me said they will start closing schools early if the money is not sent to their accounts,” Indimuli stated during a past interview. 

Further, they had urged Magoha to reconsider his stance on fee payments. The Education CS had initially asked headteachers to allow students to learn without interference and not to charge extra fees. 

Indimuli, however, lamented on the situation, advocating for parents to be pushed to settle their fee arrears to allow headteachers to effectively manage the schools.

"Parents must take their responsibilities and clear the pending fee balances to enable school heads to effectively manage and run schools.

"Schools are only having a few percent of parents clearing the fees balances with the largest percentage failing to clear while others send their children to school without fees," Indimuli stated.

Both headteachers and parents have been at loggerheads with the Education Ministry in the recent past.

Recently, parents lamented on the midterm break on the school calendar citing that the short holiday was unnecessary as schools would close two weeks after the break on Friday, July 16. 

The ministry changed the calendar owing to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw schools close for nine months in 2020.

Students during a lesson in class wearing masks
Students wearing masks in a Kenyan school.
Kenyans.co.ke