Educationists from Kisii and Nyamira counties have warned the country’s policy makers against reducing the capitation funds to schools because the move will adversely impair the institutions.
Dr Erick Onsongo of Kisii University argues that cuts in capitation would cripple key operations, leading to a shortage of textbooks and learning materials, delays in paying non-teaching staff, and the stalling of infrastructure maintenance. Schools would also struggle to fund co-curricular activities and school feeding programs, which are critical for retaining learners from poor households.
The stakeholders added that reduced funding would force schools to increase fees or levy parents, undermining the goal of free and accessible education. They cautioned that the quality of learning would decline as principals divert money from academic programs to cover basic operational costs.
Student performance in national examinations could also drop due to a lack of practical materials for science and CBC projects.
Parents urged the government to consolidate funds from the NG-CDF kitty with other funding bodies like the Elimu Education Fund into one account to enable the government to remit adequate money instead of the current fragmented system, which they argued paves the way for corruption.
They noted that a single consolidated funding body would streamline disbursement, reduce duplication, and improve accountability in the education sector.
It would make it easier to track how public funds are used, cut administrative costs, and ensure equitable distribution of resources to all schools.
A unified system would also minimise delays caused by bureaucracy across multiple agencies and seal loopholes that enable misappropriation of funds.
Kisii County Government Watch Secretary Rachael Otundo proposed that both the National and County Governments establish a common bank account to cater for education programmes in the county by streamlining its funding systems, which have been a big hindrance to the development of education for a long time.
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The educationists further noted that many schools are already grappling with delayed disbursement of funds, pushing them into debt with suppliers of food and learning materials.
They urged the Ministry of Education to release capitation funds on time and in full, stressing that alternative income-generating projects by schools should only supplement, not replace, government funding.
By Enock Okong’o
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