Parents Bear Brunt of Delayed Government Payments for JSS Textbooks
Parents are being forced to bear the additional cost of purchasing textbooks for their children in Junior Secondary School (JSS) as the government delays the release of capitation funds to schools.
The Kenya Publishers Association has reported a slump in sales due to the delayed payments, which has put immense financial pressure on publishers and printers. In some schools, parents have also been asked to pay for additional costs such as desks, registration fees, and meals.
Headteachers of primary schools, who are also the principals of JSS, have revealed that a lack of capitation funds has made it difficult to roll out JSS and provide adequate teachers to support learning.
This delay has not only affected the education of the children but also the operations of publishers, printers, and school managers.
The Kenya Publishers Association has said that there has been no release of the 20% advance payment for Grade 7, which should have been made to fast-track the printing and distribution of textbooks.
Publishers including Kenya Literature Bureau, East African Education Publishers, and Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, have been contracted to print and distribute 18.3 million Grade 7 textbooks to public schools.
Some bills have been settled, but a substantial amount is still outstanding. The publishers claim that the delay has put immense financial pressure on their operations, with salaries delayed, creditors sending demand letters, and some going to court and obtaining auction instructions against the publishers and printers.
Last week, the government released KES 1.6 billion ($15 million) to the publishers, but this was only for the pending bills of work delivered for Grade 6 books.
No money has been released towards the printing and distribution of Grade 7 textbooks. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development CEO, Prof Charles Ong’ondo, said that the government has covered much ground in the distribution of textbooks and will complete the exercise in a few days.
However, publishers, printers, and school managers have said that the failure of the government to release funds in time has resulted in a mess in the rollout of textbooks, which has also affected book distribution with parents having to shoulder additional costs.
In some schools, parents have been asked to buy desks, pay registration fees, and buy books and meals.
Headteachers of primary schools, who are also the principals of Junior Secondary Schools, have revealed that they have been in a difficult position, with a lack of capitation funds making it hard to roll out JSS and provide adequate teachers to support learning.
Parents Bear Brunt of Delayed Government Payments for JSS Textbooks
