Ministry will increase funds for free education, says PS

Education Principal Secretary Bellio Kipsang. (Photo: Boniface Okendo/Standard)

By Augustine Oduor

Nairobi, Kenya: The Government will increase primary schools capitation per child by Sh500 in the next financial year once the proposed budget is passed.

Education Principal Secretary Bellio Kipsang said free day secondary school capitation per student will also go up by about Sh3,000.

This means that each pupil will now be allocated Sh1,520 up from the current Sh1,020.

This is, however, way below what teachers and other education stakeholders have been demanding.

Primary and secondary school head teachers have been pushing for the capitations review that would see amount per child in primary schools tripled and that for secondary schools doubled.

Dr Kipsang, however, said the increment is a step towards the review process.

He said the ministry has been allocated Sh13.76 billion up from the Sh9.9 billion the ministry had requested. Some 9.4 million pupils in primary schools will benefit.

The PS said each student in day school will now receive Sh13,000, up from Sh10 265.

He said the ministry has been allocated Sh27.8 billion against the Sh22.6 billion it had requested. Some two million secondary school students will benefit from the increment.

Major impact

‘These increments will have a major impact on the quality of education because it has been a major issue,” he said.

The PS spoke yesterday when he appeared before the House Committee on Education, Science and Technology.

Also appearing before the committee was Teachers Service Commission Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni and the Higher Education Loans Board Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera.

House chair Sabina Chege had summoned the officials to discuss the budgetary allocation and also to explore possibilities of reallocating the monies to urgent and pressing areas.

Mr Lengoiboni said the Sh2.25 billion allocated towards employment of additional teachers was not enough as the teacher gap now stands at 74,000.

“This money will only employ 5,000 teachers and this means that we shall still have a deficit of 69,000,” he said.

The commission had requested to be allocated some Sh9 billion towards recruitment of 20,000 teachers.

Lengoiboni also said the sector could face another strike if the second phase of commuter allowance is not factored in the budget.

He said only Sh3.8 billion was allocated to implement the second phase of the teachers’ negotiated deal, leaving a deficit of Sh2.1 billion. The total amount requested was Sh5.9 billion.

The first phase of teachers’ commuter allowance was paid last July. The second phase is due in July this year, Lengoiboni said.