Discrepancies in School Capitation Amount as Funds Yet to Reach Some Institutions
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, there is no crisis in learning institutions across the nation despite allegations of delayed capitation payments.
Speaking exclusively to Citizen TV on Friday, CS Machogu stated that the Ministry of Education has received funds from the National Treasury and has begun distributing them to primary, secondary, and junior secondary schools across the country, promising that the funds will be deposited into school accounts between Friday and the following week.
A spot check in Kajiado, Kisii, Nyamira, Siaya, and Mombasa counties revealed that several institutions had not received the funds by Friday’s close of business.
On Thursday, the government revealed that it would distribute capitation funds to primary, secondary, and junior secondary schools across the nation by June 9, 2023. This seemed to signal the end of a lengthy wait for schools across the nation.
“Kwa sasa hivi hatujapokea pesa kutoka kwa serikali lakini tuna matumanini kupa pesa zitafika hivi karibuni,” the CS said.
CS Machogu maintained that everything is fine, attributing the delays to bank procedures.
“We are sending out the capitation, you know the process once you get the money the necessary details are sent to the bank, once the necessary preparation has been given to the various banks the money should be able to reflect in the school accounts by Friday on the latest,” he noted.
The majority of school administrators have complained about the difficulty of operating schools with vacant coffers, which the CS refutes.
Machogu dismissed the notion of a crisis, stating that the schools had opened on the 8th, including national, county, and extra county schools where parents also pay fees. He questioned whether it was plausible that the schools had depleted the funds received in the form of fees by this point in time.
On Wednesday, while responding to queries from members of Parliament, Cabinet Secretary Machogu stated that schools would receive Ksh.28 billion as capitation. However, on Thursday, a breakdown by the National Treasury revealed that schools will only receive Ksh.24 billion; Ksh.4 billion less.
“There is money for infrastructural development which is about Ksh.2 billion and another Ksh.2 billion which is supposed to be for school feeding programme, so the Ksh.4 billion we are yet to get,” he stated.
As 50% of the capitation is anticipated to be disbursed in the first term, 30% in the second term, and 20% in the third term, the school administrators question the criteria adopted by the ministry to allocate the funds.
According to CS Machogu, the implementation of this strategy is integral to reforms that are still in the works.
Discrepancies in School Capitation Amount as Funds Yet to Reach Some Institutions
