Closing schools earlier will be unfair to learners

Students spotted along Streets of Nairobi following the closure of the learning institutions. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Public schools could close earlier than August 12, 2023 due to delayed disbursement of capitation funds.

The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Associations Chairman Indimuli Kahi and his primary school's counterpart Johnson Nzioka claim the government underfunded each student by Sh5,000 in the 2021/2022 Financial Year and Sh4,300 per student in the 2022/2023 Financial Year. Each student is entitled to Sh22,244 per year.

However, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang maintains that the government has remitted all capitation money due to schools. While it is not apparent who is being economical with the truth regarding the capitation, one inescapable fact is that schools cannot afford to close early, especially for candidates who will be sitting their national examinations in a few months.

It should not be lost on education stakeholders that schools in major towns lost at least 24 hours of learning last week alone due to demonstrations called by the opposition. Schools remained closed for three days due to security concerns. This, in addition to the disruptions caused by Covid-19 do not allow teachers and learners the luxury to close schools early. Teachers and students need all the time available to cover the syllabus fully.

It is injudicious to ignore the fact that it has become extremely difficult for school heads to effectively run schools on meagre resources amid commodity prices that have spiraled out of control. Recently, President William Ruto was upbeat that his government had stabilised the economy, hence there is no reason the government should not honour its part of the bargain in the management of schools to enable seamless learning.

The government has so far exhibited a lacklustre attitude, especially towards junior secondary schools. The novel CBC programme seems to flounder under neglect that has resulted in dire shortage of teachers and requisite teaching and learning materials. Added to erratic disbursement of capitation funds, this, no doubt, bodes ill for the education sector.