JSS Funds Delay Plague Rollout of Grade 7 Textbooks
The Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, is facing criticism for his failure to quickly distribute Sh9.6 billion in capitation funds to public schools to implement the transition to Junior Secondary School (JSS).
As a result, the slow distribution of textbooks to schools, extra levies imposed on parents, and logistical issues have emerged.
Machogu appeared before the Senate Education Committee last week and attributed the disbursement delay to the lack of accurate data captured in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
He claimed that the delay was necessary to obtain the correct data to prevent the government from losing out on funds.
Machogu stated that 1,137,179 learners had reported to JSS across the country, and the supplementary budget had been approved, with funds expected to be disbursed to schools the following week.
The slow pace of opening bank accounts by schools for the delayed disbursement of capitation was also listed by Machogu as a reason for the delay.
A separate school management board for JSS was required to be established to facilitate the opening of a separate bank account for government funds. As a result, the release of funds has been challenging.
Schools have yet to receive a coin of the Sh15,000 capitation per learner, which was to be disbursed in a 50:30:20 ratio for the first, second, and third terms, nearly two months after the JSS rollout.
Part of this money was to be allocated to the purchase of textbooks per child. However, publishers have reported difficulties due to lack of payment, causing printers to be unable to deliver.
Machogu acknowledged that books had not been delivered to all schools because publishers have been slow to produce all of the necessary books.
JSS Funds Delay Plague Rollout of Grade 7 Textbooks
