Massive crisis in schools as government delays release of capitation funds

School administrators are going through hell on earth due to delays in disbursing capitation money on time, which has persisted since the beginning of the year.

With schools heading into the fourth week of the second term, a promise by the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba that the government will release Ksh 21 billion last week is yet to be fulfilled, forcing school principals to continue dodging the non-teaching staff and creditors, as they do not know when the government will release the funds.

With term one disbursement yet t be cleared, school heads say they are frustrated as they are unable to buy essentials such as textbooks, set books, duplicate papers, among other learning materials.

The delay  is affecting the busiest term of the academic calendar and at a crucial juncture when the pioneer class of Junior Secondary School learners prepare for practicals of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).

Delayed release of capitation funds has resulted in the disruption of co-curricular activities.

The assessment of Grade Nine learners also risks being delayed even as the practicals for technical subjects are ongoing.

“We have already started the practicals for technical subjects such as Agriculture. The learners are doing them but in some institutions, they are facing a very tough time as they need some materials to execute the practicals,” a head teacher of a school in Kakamega County told The Informer Media Group.

The school heads have warned that the delay is threatening to grind operations to a halt in institutions that rely almost entirely on government funding, especially public day secondary schools.

The magnitude of the crisis was illustrated this week when the principal of Adiedo Mixed Secondary School in Rachuonyo, Homa Bay County, rejected to take six chicken a grandmother had taken to the school as part payment of Ksh 131,920 fees arrears her two grandchildren owe the institution.

Ms Consolata Aoko had valued the chicken at Ksh 1,000 each but the principal, James Kabaraka, said they could only take two since the school needs cash more than in-kind payment since he is not sure when capitation money would hit its account.

He said that out of the school’s population of 300 learners, 200 are needy and the school cannot sustain its operations if they all paid fees by supplying commodities.

“We try as much as possible to get money from parents as we wait for capitation which we do not know when it will come,” he explained, adding it was not their wish to keep the two students away from school since it affects their coverage of the curriculum and performance.

Photos of the grandmother with the chicken at the school went viral on social media resulting in a well wisher contributing Ksh 50,000 towards payment of the arrears.

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga also revealed that the county government has since cleared the balance and that the two learners have been enrolled in its scholarship programme, which will see them through college.

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Willy Kuria explains the dire situation they are grappling with: “Without capitation funds, we may not be able to pass the exams, we may not be able to buy textbooks, we may not be able to buy the typing paper, the duplicating papers, all the materials required for the exams.”

Kimani added that day schools are the most affected as they cannot charge extra levies like their boarding counterparts as they solely depend on capitation to run.

He noted that some schools closed for term one with arrears for the non-teaching staff because of the government delay as he adds that some schools opted not to participate in co-curricular activities, which raises the risk of strikes.

“There is low motivation among principals, especially those deployed to day schools, owing to inadequate funding. We have a balance of about Ksh 2,800 per student, which was not remitted from last term, and some schools have had to close without paying salaries for non-teaching staff,” he said.

Kimani added that suppliers are on the neck of the school heads and they no longer trust them as they have resorted to being dishonest due to delays of the disbursement.

”Some schools have resorted to instructing guards to deny entry to suppliers due to accumulated debts as they are on our necks, and they no longer trust us. We have to play hide-and-seek and, at times, instruct the guards at the gate not to let them come into the school. We’ve are living a dishonest life,” he explained.

The schools heads warn that the entire academic year may be paralyzed if the government does not change its ways.

Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA) chairman Fuad Ali says the effects of the delay are being felt across the comprehensive school system affecting all their activities.

“The capitation is affecting the entire comprehensive school, because Junior Secondary and the combine primary are housed in the same compound and under one head of institution. So when there is a delay in the capitation, our activities are delayed,” Fuad noted.

Similar to their counterparts in secondary schools, Fuad added that the non-teaching staff have also gone for weeks without salaries as utility bills continue to rise as they face frequent disconnections of water and electricity due to huge unpaid bills.

“If we keep the non-teaching staff for long without receiving the payment, it’s affecting their daily lives too, because they are also people with families, and they need to be supported. We use power to pump water, we use power for Wi-Fi, internet services, and most things are done using power. So if power is disconnected, it’s a big challenge in our institutions,” he explained.

Fuad dismissed the earlier excuse by the ministry of Education that uploading school data into the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), was the cause of the delay as he revealed that the data had already been submitted and that excuse no longer holds.

According to a principal of a school in Nairobi who spoke to The Informer Media Group on condition of anonymity, they are also fighting political interference, staffing shortages, and unrealistic expectations from parents.

“Being a principal in this country is not easy. The pressures are enormous. Political interference is one of our biggest challenges. Politicians pushing for certain appointments not based on merit, but tribal or political affiliations, and when you don’t do what they want, they start threatening you,” he explained.

He added that some of his colleagues have resorted to charging extra fees to keep their schools running as he explains that some of the hidden charges that the government has outlawed continue to be levied because  school heads want to keep their institutions running.

In the last term, some schools were forced to close earlier than the designated calendar date due to the cash crunch bite as they were unable to even provide food for the students.

National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa said that schools may be forced to send kids home for parents to clear the pending school fees balances, which is already happening as seen in the Homa Bay case.

To make matters worse, schools are owed Ksh 64 billion in historical capitation fees arrears but National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has since declared that they will not pay despite lawsuits filed by suppliers seeking payment.

“It was budgeted for, but our budget is cash-based. If a financial year has ended and you didn’t pay it, there’s no money to pay later! We don’t keep money somewhere. Who do we pay that money to if the capitation was not released?” Mbadi posed during an interview with Spice FM in February.