Stakeholders demand immediate release of full school funds

Bumula MP Jack Wamboka is questioning why the government has delayed the disbursement of capitation money to schools.

He regretted that the unwarranted delay is pushing many schools to the brink with the management at loss on how to handle the situation.

Speaking on Saturday in Mateka, Wamboka accused the Education Ministry and the National Treasury of failing to release the full capitation amount as earlier promised.

“Failure by the government to release full capitation has disrupted learning across the country. School heads are struggling to meet basic operational costs, forcing parents to shoulder expenses that should be covered by the government,” lamented the lawmaker.

“Let’s not play with matters of education. Sh7,000 capitation per student is not enough, where is the Sh22,000 that is supposed to be taken to schools? Singapore can never be a reality if education continues to be a challenge among our students.”

Wamboka called for immediate release of all outstanding capitation funds and demanded accountability from senior officials at the Ministry of Education while insisting that the future of millions of learners is at stake.

“Release the money to schools. The President gave a directive that all Grade 10 students report with or without uniform. What will they eat, and where will they sit? We are burdening head teachers. I am urging the government to ensure full capitation is disbursed to schools,” he said.

“We want affordable education and affordable healthcare,” added the legislator who serves as Parliament’s Education committee.

He took issue with Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, blaming him over poor leadership and policy inconsistencies amid the ongoing challenges in the education sector.

Elsewhere, Webuye East MP Martin Pepela and nominated senator Connie Wakwabubi want the Education ministry to formulate a realistic budget for all learners.

The leaders said the exact allocation per head must be made clear.

“The Education ministry has tried to align and streamline the CBE system. But we are also telling the ministry to come up with a proper budget to ensure we know the exact allocation per student,” argued Pepela.

Ms Wakwabubi acknowledged a move by the government to ease the staffing shortage in schools by employing 10,000 teachers.