Release schools capitation arrears, MP Betty Maina to State

Murang’a woman representative Betty Maina has asked the national government to ensure it clears learners’ capitation arrears to enable school heads to run learning institutions efficiently.

The MP said the government has only been disbursing fractions of the funds and failing to clear the arrears when an academic year ends.

The government allocates Sh22,244 per learner annually under the free day secondary school program that is released in tranches.

In the first term, schools receive 50 percent of leaners’ capitation while 30 percent is released in the second term and 20 percent in the third term.

In January this year, the national treasury announced the release of Sh31.34 billion, even as the government owed schools over Sh87 billion for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 financial years.

Secondary school heads had in the same month complained that they only received about Sh17,000 per learner for the last academic year.

“Out of the funds, we deducted Sh5,000 for infrastructure development and other expenses such as textbooks and activities’ fees which shouldn’t be the case which is not supposed to be the case,” Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) national chairperson Willy Kuria said.

Kuria, also the principal of Murang’a High School, said the deductions left each learner with barely Sh10,000 for the whole year.

The MP said failing to release all the money owed to schools makes it impossible for schools to operate, condemning them to increasing debts.

“We want the government to clear the arrears that it owes schools. Without funds, schools struggle to maintain students,” Maina said at Kimorori grounds in Kenol, Maragua constituency where she was issuing bursaries worth Sh4.4 million to 506 students.

The MP said in Murang’a, primary and Junior Secondary Schools are also hard hit by the government’s failure to disburse all funds, with parents being forced to dig deeper into their pockets.

Schools have also been under pressure by suppliers for defaulting on payments, sparking concerns among stakeholders that the delayed disbursements may compromise the quality of education in the County.