A cash crunch has gripped schools nationwide after the Ministry of Education (MoE) withheld billions in long-awaited capitation funds, citing the need to verify the authenticity of schools and student enrolments before releasing the money.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba confirmed that the Treasury had already disbursed the money to the Ministry, but said the transfer to school accounts was suspended until a clean-up of data is completed.
“We must verify and confirm the number of learners and schools before wiring funds. Those who operate bank accounts for ghost schools will be arrested,” CS Ogamba warned, adding that auditors and detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are working on the exercise.
The CS revealed that Sh17.1 billion in capitation had been allocated to free primary, junior and day secondary education, while another Sh5.9 billion would go towards national examinations. The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is receiving Sh9.1 billion for student loans.
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The delay has triggered panic among school heads, with some institutions already unable to meet basic expenses.
“We have not received a shilling, yet suppliers are on our necks and the feeding programme is almost shutting down,” said a principal in Samburu. Another in Nairobi added: “If this trend continues, we may be forced to send children home. Other schools have already done so.”
Audit reports have in recent years flagged the existence of ghost schools and inflated student registers that continue to drain public funds. According to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, billions of shillings are lost annually due to discrepancies in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
While basic education institutions wait for their allocations, the government on Friday announced it had released Sh23.16 billion for 802,159 university and TVET students. The Universities Fund disbursed Sh4.1 billion in scholarships to public universities, while HELB released Sh19.06 billion, including Sh11.46 billion for student upkeep.
For primary and secondary schools, however, the third term has opened under a cloud of uncertainty, with many institutions struggling to keep their doors open as they await the long-overdue capitation funds.
By Mercy Kokwon
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