The government will not pay more than Sh64 billion that has accumulated over the years as unremitted capitation funds to public schools.
The Cabinet Secretary for The National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi has said that there is no provision in the budget to pay money allocated but unreleased once a financial year lapses.
Heads of primary and secondary schools have been asking the government to release the balance of capitation funds that is not disbursed as financial support to schools continues to decline as enrolment increases.
As a result, they argue that running schools has been affected and some have run into debts and have been sued by suppliers.
“It was budgeted for but our budget is cash based. If a financial year has ended and you didn’t pay it, there’s no money [to pay later]. We don’t keep money somewhere. Who do we pay that money to if the capitation was not released?” Mr Mbadi posed.
He was speaking at a local radio station on Thursday. He acknowledged that in some instances, parents are asked by managements of schools to pay higher school fees than recommended when the government fails to disburse the capitation in full.
Many schools are unable to buy adequate learning materials, pay non-teaching staff, or provide quality meals for students due to the reduced capitation. Co-curricular activities have also been affected, with schools cutting back on sports and co-curricular programmes due to a lack of funds.
The official capitation per learner under the Free Primary Education programme is Sh1,420 per learner per year while those in junior school are entitled to Sh15,042. The Free Day Secondary Education programme provides for Sh22,244 per learner annually but this has reduced to about Sh15,000 per year.
“If parents were forced to pay (to cater for deficit), and then we give schools that money, will they refund the parents? Going forward, let’s make sure all the money budgeted for is released,” Mr Mbadi said.
“We were supposed to give schools money … we didn’t give them but we don’t have a budget for that. You can’t cover arrears that were supposed to be paid to schools in 2020,” he added.
The CS said that the government has released the cash due to primary and junior schools for first term. Secondary schools have a deficit of Sh14 billion that he said will be disbursed before the end ends. Mr Mbadi said public universities need Sh107 billion per year.
“We had Sh48.8 billion to pay [capitation to schools]. Out of this, Sh4.5 billion was for FPE for first term, we paid in full; Sh15.1 billion for JSS which we also paid in full. The Sh28 billion for secondary, we paid 14 billion and the term hasn’t ended and we’ll make sure we pay,” Mr Mbadi said.
Principals of secondary schools early this month submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Education that, if adopted, will see parents pay more to keep their children in school. The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) says that the capitation which was last reviewed in 2018 has not only been reduced but also does not take into consideration inflation over the years.
In the new proposal, the principals want parents with children in national schools to pay an extra Sh19,628 annually and the fees for those in extra-county schools to go up by Sh27,488. Learners in day schools, in principle, do pay tuition fees but Kessha now wants them to pay Sh5,372 annually.
“The partial and delayed disbursement of capitation funds, coupled with the rising costs of goods and services, has placed an immense strain on the management and sustainability of schools. In addition, the inadequate fees charged to students, which fail to synchronise with the current economic realities, have exacerbated the financial challenges. Unless this situation is addressed urgently by relevant authorities, secondary schools in Kenya are at the brink of imminent closure, which will negatively impact the future of countless students,” reads the proposal signed by the chair of Kessha Willy Kuria.
