Public day secondary schools may be forced to close early due to lack of food, while staff and suppliers have not been paid for their services.
The food shortage and delay in payment is attributed to the failure by the government to release education funds meant to sustain the schools.
According to teachers, there are fears schools could lack basic supplies come next term because suppliers have not been paid.
Data from the Ministry of Education indicates the schools have only received 14 per cent of funds meant for the second term.
A headteacher from Kinangop, Nyandarua county, who wished to remain anonymous, said their parent ministry was aware of the situation.
He said they were looking forward to next week when schools would be closed as food stock had run out and they did not have any cash.
“The government is meant to release 50 percent of the free day secondary school education funds in the first term and this has been done,” he said.
“In second term we are supposed to get another thirty percent but we have only received fourteen and this has affected service delivery,” the teacher said.
The sentiments were echoed by another Principal from Gilgil who said that almost all the support staff would have to go home without salaries.
He accused the government of failing to plan, adding currently the schools have been oversupplied with textbooks.
He said that this had become a major challenge for them as they did not have storage capacity.
This has seen tens of books damaged.
“The government has failed to release the free day secondary funds but it is instead dumping hundreds of textbooks yet we do not have space to safely keep them,” he said.
The SecretarybGeneral of the National Parents Association in Nakuru, Eskimos Kobia, said the issue had been raised with them.
He blamed poor planning and lack of coordination between the Ministries of Education and Finance for the current crisis across the country.
“Some day schools will next week be forced to close early due to the financial crisis and we are asking the concerned ministry to urgently intervene,” he said.
Kobia revisited the issue of textbooks supply adding the government could be losing millions in the new scandal.
“The supply of the textbooks is uncontrolled and in some cases, schools are receiving more books than the number of students they have meaning a loss to the State,” he said.
Edited by N. Mbugua
