Schools enter third week on an empty purse as funds delay

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. [File, Standard] Schools begin the third week of the second term with empty pockets after the government failed to release capitation to the institutions as they grapple with operation cost. This is despite Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba last week promising schools that the funds would be released by the end of the second week. Ogamba said the Schools will receive Sh21 billion in capitation funds during the Inaugural Education Conference 2026 at Lake Naivasha Resort. And now public primary and secondary schools are staring at serious operational challenges despite assurances from Ogamba that the money would be released by last Friday. From unpaid salaries for non-teaching staff to disrupted co-curricular activities and looming exam preparedness crises, school heads are warning that the delay is threatening to grind operations to a halt in institutions that rely almost entirely on government funding. Also, school heads who sought anonymity said the institutions risk delay in the administration of practical assessments for Grade 9 learners. The practicals 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 school head who sought anonymity told the Standard. The delay comes during 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). And now school heads are warning that the delay might hamper smooth administration of the inaugural assessment. The heads are now planning to escalate the matter to the Ministry of Education on Monday. They are hoping for a swift resolution, fearing that prolonged delays could paralyze the entire education calendar. Fuad Ali, Chairman of the Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA), on Saturday said the delayed funds have had a ripple effect across the entire comprehensive school system- which combines Primary and Junior Secondary Schools. "The capitation is affecting not only the junior school, but the entire comprehensive school, because they are housed in the same compound and under one head of institution," Fuad told reporters. "So when there is a delay in the capitation, our activities are delayed," he added. One of the immediate casualties, Fuad said, has been the payment of salaries for non-teaching staff. Fuad said most of these staff members are struggling to meet their daily needs, with no alternative source of income. "If we keep them 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," he said. Beyond salaries, Fuad said the schools are unable to meet their utility bills-particularly electricity-resulting in frequent power disconnections. The impact of this is far-reaching. "We use power to pump water, we use power for Wi-Fi, internet services, and then most of the things are done using power. So if power is disconnected, again, it's a big challenge in our institutions," Fuad said in a phone interview with the Standard. Co-curricular programs such as music, sports, and ballgames have also taken a hit, just as the school term enters the most active part of the calendar. Fuad said the delay has also affected teacher training programs for junior school instructors-are also being jeopardized due to a lack of transport and logistical support. "These teachers, whenever they are going for any of these trainings, they need to be supported in terms of transport and so forth," he said. "We just wish, as we had discussed with the ministry last week-and they promised the money would be released by the end of last week-that it is done. But to date, we have not received." Fuad said the Ministry had earlier blamed the delay on a lag in uploading data on the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), but clarified that the data was now submitted, and the delay could no longer be justified. At the secondary school level, the situation is equally dire. Willy Kuria, Chairman of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA), confirmed that no funds had been received for the current term and expressed frustration that even previous disbursements were incomplete. Kuria noted that the lack of capitation is directly impacting preparations for opening exams, as schools are unable to purchase textbooks, duplicating paper, and other learning materials. "Without a problem [capitation], 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," he said. He added that the shortfall is particularly harsh on day secondary schools, which cannot independently finance their programs as they solely depend on the capitation and don't charge any extra fees like their boarding counterparts. This has seen some of the day schools miss out on some of the co-curricular activities. "When they don't participate in co-curricular activities, it will affect the boarding schools as well, because the boarding schools cannot compete on their own," Kuria said. National Parents Association(NPA) chairman Silas Obuhatsa also raised fears of schools sending students back home to collect fee balance. Obuhatsa has called on the government to release the capitation this week to ease the operational pressure on schools.

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