Government to disburse funds to schools by Friday

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said that funds for primary and secondary schools will be available in their bank accounts by Friday or Monday.

Magoha was speaking yesterday in Nyamira county after touring Sironga Girls High School, where he laid a foundation stone for the construction of phase two classrooms for the competency-based curriculum (CBC).

“I thank all the principals for accepting all children, those with school fees, those without and those who are still struggling. The government will ensure that the capitation hits your bank on Friday. There’s no cause for panic. The government has money at all times,” said Magoha.

Learners across the country reported for the second term today despite principals’ concerns that running the institutions will be a nightmare, particularly for boarding secondary schools.

The cost of running the institutions, according to the principals, is becoming increasingly unsustainable as food costs rise.

The CS stated that the second phase of constructing CBC classrooms, totalling around 3,500, will be completed in the next three weeks, increasing the total to 11, 000 lessons.

He advised contractors not to be careless, adding that the building of some classrooms, which began more than two months ago, had yet to be completed.

“Those classrooms shall be built when we are still in office. Ensure no child is sent home to go and get money, because the government is paying fees in the form of capitation for all children,” he said.

He warned instructors not to express themselves “in a way that will get them in trouble,” admitting that the government had imported corn and that a lack of it should not be used as an excuse.

Indimuli Kahi, head of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, has encouraged the government to consider working with the National Cereal and Produce Board to supply grains to schools at a lower cost.

Despite being unable to increase tuition mid-year, the rising cost of goods has made the position of school administrators worse.

When schools created their budgets and levied fees at the start of the year, the majority of food goods, fuel, and other supplies were substantially cheaper than they are now.

In the last six months, the cost of some foods, such as maize and beans, has more than doubled.

The second term is typically one of the longest and busiest in the Kenyan academic year normally, it takes 14 weeks to complete, but it will now just take 10.