Secondary school heads in Kenya are crying foul over the continued reduction in capitation funding from the Ministry of Education, saying it’s severely affecting co-curricular activities and school operations.
A survey by Education News across five regions shows that many secondary schools will miss out on the first term’s co-curricular calendar due to lack of funds. With limited resources, school leaders are struggling to balance academic and extra curricular needs and meet their institutional goals.
Not Enough Allocation for Co-Curricular Activities
According to school heads, current capitation allocation for secondary schools is woefully inadequate. Schools received Ksh 236 per student in the first term’s allocation, with Ksh 100 per student going to sub-county offices and another Ksh 100 per student to county offices for activities. That leaves only Ksh 36 per student for school use to support co-curricular events.
“What magic can we apply as principals?” asked a frustrated principal from West Pokot County, wondering how schools are expected to fund critical activities with such little resources.
Principals Struggle to Sustain Sports and Other Activities
Reports indicate that schools in regions such as Rift Valley, Western, Coast and Nyanza are struggling to fund their teams. Some principals have even asked games teachers and coaches to scale down the number of events or cut certain activities altogether to stay within budget.
With term one games scheduled to be held in the Coast region, many schools are finding it hard to finance participation. School heads have called on games officials and county education offices to review budget allocations to ensure co-curricular activities get enough funding.
Principals to Defy Fund Remittance Directives
Some principals have vowed to disobey directives from county and sub-county education offices to remit co-curricular funds. They argue more consultations are needed to prevent schools from being deprived of financial support.
Apart from funding shortages for co-curricular activities, schools are also grappling with debts to suppliers and salary arrears for non-teaching staff. “If things continue like this we will be overwhelmed,” warned a newly appointed principal from the Coast region.
Capitation Disbursement Irregularities and Higher School Fees
Government’s financial problems have led to irregular capitation disbursements and schools are unable to plan. Currently schools are owed nearly Ksh 64 billion in pending capitation funds.KESSHA is now pushing for an increase in school fees to fill the gap. While this might ease the burden on schools it will put more pressure on already struggling parents.
Government on Funding Issues
The Ministry of Education has acknowledged the concerns raised by principals and says the capitation funding issues will be addressed soon. But without a clear plan for timely disbursements.