Education Reforms Hit Roadblocks Due to Lack of Funds
A year after President William Ruto’s launch of educational reforms, the plan to increase funding for primary and secondary schools remains unfulfilled.
The reforms, outlined in a report by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) taskforce, were handed to Dr. Ruto on August 2, 2023.
Despite the President’s directive for immediate action on some recommendations, questions now arise about delays in revising school funding, with stakeholders lamenting ongoing underfunding issues.
Collins Oyuu, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) secretary general, expressed that the recommendation to increase school funding is overdue. He emphasized that like university funding changes, this should have received similar priority.
Willy Kuria, chairman of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association, noted that if the presidential working party’s recommendations had been implemented, it would have significantly addressed the school funding crisis.
The report proposed a second level of funding for schools to cover day-to-day operations. Free Primary Education, initiated by Kenya’s third President, the late Mwai Kibaki, has not seen funding increases since its inception in 2003.
The reforms recommend an increase from Sh1,420 per learner to Sh2,238, with further reviews every three years. Additionally, Junior Secondary School learners would receive Sh15,043 each, while Senior Secondary School students would get Sh22,527.
Essential Package Allocation
The Kenya Kwanza administration committed to providing a minimum essential package distributed as follows:
- Pre-primary: Sh70,200
- Primary education: Sh536,880
- Junior school: Sh1,632,120
- Senior school: Sh1,890,000
- Special needs education: Sh2,060,940
Current Funding Crisis
Despite these commitments, the government has failed to provide even the existing earmarked funds for Free Day Secondary Education. Schools have been receiving Sh17,000 as capitation for the past five years, leading to limited activities.
Kuria mentioned that some principals are increasing fees beyond the Ministry of Education’s set amounts, further burdening parents and guardians. Johnson Nzioka, chairman of the Kenya Primary School Heads Association, warned about the fragile state of Free Primary Education due to underfunding.
He revealed that the government has only funded primary schools for the first term, leaving the second term unfunded as schools prepare to close for the August holiday.
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Recent Funding Disbursement
In June, the government disbursed Sh36 billion in capitation funds for the second term, covering free day secondary, primary, and junior secondary school programs. The allocation is as follows:
- Secondary schools: Sh19 billion
- Junior secondary schools: Sh14 billion
- Primary schools: Sh2.74 billion
However, this disbursement came as schools were about to commence a three-day mid-term break, raising concerns about timely and adequate funding.
Education Reforms Hit Roadblocks Due to Lack of Funds