Following a warning to headteachers not to send home students who have not paid fees, the government has allocated Sh16.9 billion as learners’ capitation for public primary and secondary schools for the second term of 2022. Headteachers had voiced their concerns that running schools were becoming more and more challenging due to the high cost of living, especially considering the delays in the allocation of government cash.
Yesterday, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha revealed that Sh14.2 billion had been released to secondary schools, while Sh2.7 billion had been released to primary schools. The National Treasury transferred the money to the schools on Friday of last week, and it appeared in school accounts yesterday.
Julius Jwan, the principal secretary for basic education, also cautioned schools against requesting additional fees. There have been allegations of various schools around the nation requiring pupils to pay extra fees. According to the PS, schools must abide by the ministry’s declared fee policies. The PS instructed the ministry of education field officers to provide thorough reports on any schools that were disobeying the ministry’s rules and issued a warning that they would be held accountable for any schools that demanded additional levies.
On July 12, schools reopened for the second term. School Principle particularly those in boarding secondary schools, expressed concern over the high cost of goods. The principals claim that it is challenging to administer the institutions because of underfunding and parents who are late with their payments of tuition. According to the principals, parents have claimed the cause of delayed payment comes due to the crashed academic calendar and the hard economic situation in the country.
According to Indimuli Kahi, the chair of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha), secondary schools started receiving money in their school accounts on Monday.
“However, we are yet to receive the ministry’s circular indicating the vote head allocation for the funds, we request the ministry to send it soonest,” said Mr Kahi.
Johnstone Nzioka, from the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (Kepsha), also stated that primary schools had begun receiving money in their accounts.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha warned principles against sending learners home for school fees. The minister urged teachers to engage parents to ensure they clear payments. The CS was addressing at Hospital Hill School in Nairobi, where he had gone to check on the development of junior secondary Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms.
Over 7,000 classrooms have reportedly been finished across the nation so far, according to the CS. 3,500 new classrooms are being built by the government. The government is working to make sure that the remaining classrooms are finished before the elections on August 9. The government intends for junior secondary schools to begin classes in January.
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