President William Ruto has issued a warning to education authorities who demand money from parents while claiming that the government has not yet allocated education funds.
Speaking on Sunday at a Thanksgiving ceremony in Busia County, Ruto claimed to be aware of the unethical practice of some officials to demand school money from parents even if it has been covered.
According to him, the government has given Ksh. 60 billion in capitation to all educational institutions in the nation, together with Ksh. 10 billion in bursaries, to enable students to receive an education wherever in the country.
Ruto stated that his administration has raised the number of teachers working at various institutions and that many more will be hired, all the while reaffirming the government’s commitment to bolstering access to education across the country.
The Ministry of Education claims that the government of Kenya provides free primary education.
But in boarding schools, every student receives a stipend from the government. Parents cover the boarding costs associated with the various school locations and their classifications.
On January 3, the State Department for Basic Education received Ksh. 4.74 billion from the National Treasury to support free primary education for Term 1.
Furthermore, Ksh.7.6 billion was paid to the State Department as junior secondary school (JSS) capitation.
Additionally, Ksh. 2.8 billion was distributed by the Treasury to cover the costs of school exams and invigilations, and Ksh. 16.2 billion would be used to fund free-day secondary schools for the first term.
Similarly, Ksh. 192 billion was given to TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) institutions on January 17.
According to Education Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria, the funds would be used to assist the institutions’ ongoing costs of tuition, supplies for training, utilities, and extracurricular activities.
“Hear this from me because these people will stop this ill behavior because the government has disbursed the money…I want to tell those managers in the education sector not to take advantage of parents on false accounts of the government having released no money,
We have released Ksh.62 billion to our primary and secondary schools, Universities, TVET institutions, including Ksh.10 billion in bursaries to our MPs so that even children from vulnerable families can go to school” said Ruto.
