- Festus Bett argues that the government should fully fund school sports through standardized budgets from the sub-zone to the national level.
- He also calls for a review of sports capitation to reflect the higher participation costs borne by mixed schools.
- The article says equitable sports financing will promote talent development and ensure every learner competes on a level playing field.
School sports are a vital part of education. They nurture talent, promote discipline, improve learners’ physical and mental health, and strengthen national cohesion. Yet every year, many schools struggle to finance sports activities despite receiving government capitation.
As the country gears up for this year’s Senior Schools’ National Games tournament in Thika, it is time for the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) to rethink how senior school sports are funded to ensure fairness, efficiency and equal opportunities for all learners.
One reform path could be the development of a standard budget for all sports activities from the sub-zone level to the national championships. The Ministry of Education, working with the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA), should establish comparably uniform budgets covering transport, accommodation, meals, officiating, medical services, equipment and other essential costs at every competition level. Once approved, these budgets should be fully funded by the government. This would eliminate the annual uncertainty that forces schools and parents to bridge funding gaps, allowing learners to participate without financial barriers and ensuring that schools compete on merit rather than on their ability to raise funds.
Secondly, and more importantly, the Ministry should review the sports activity vote head under school capitation to reflect the realities of different school categories. Currently, schools receive sports funds without adequately considering the number of teams they are expected to field. A boys’ or girls’ school typically enters one team per game category, while a mixed school is expected to field both boys’ and girls’ teams, effectively doubling participation in many sports. This significantly increases expenditure on training, uniforms, transport, equipment and competition logistics. A funding formula that recognizes these differences would ensure equity by allocating additional resources to mixed schools in proportion to their participation obligations.
An equitable financing model would reduce financial strain on school principals, eliminate frequent requests for parental contributions and create a level playing field for all institutions. More importantly, it would enable talented learners from every corner of the country to participate and excel regardless of the financial capacity of their schools.
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As Kenya continues to invest in Competency-Based Education, co-curricular activities deserve the same attention as classroom learning. Properly financed sports programmes will produce healthier learners, stronger schools and future national and international champions. The Ministry of Education has an opportunity to modernize sports financing by adopting a standardized, equitable and fully funded model that serves every learner fairly.
By Festus Bett
Bett is a high school teacher based in the South Rift.
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