By Enock Okong’o and Sammy Musembi
Head teachers and principals of all public primary and secondary schools have been barred from leasing out their school buses for weddings, funerals and other events in a move that will hit one of the institutions’ revenue streams.
The Ministry of Education sent the directive to the heads on Tuesday, saying that it is meant to protect learners from the Coronavirus disease.
Those wishing to use them for the events must now get express approval from the ministry according to the drastic and unexpected directive that has caught heads of the public institutions off guard.
Initially meant for schools in Nyanza to curb the recent surge of Coronavirus infections in the lakeside region, the directive now includes all schools, but the ministry is yet to give reasons behind the unprecedented move.
Nyanza Regional Commissioner Magu Mutindika had on Monday written to all school heads in the Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay, Nyamira and Kisii counties to effect the directive saying those who contravened it risked arrests.
The region has since the hosting of this year’s Madaraka Day recorded a surge in Coronavirus infections and the ministry had to move in and keep learners safe by banning sharing of the buses with the local communities.
“Due to cases of Covid-19 pandemic in the region, it has been decided that no school or institution’s bus will be allowed to carry people going to funerals or weddings,” read a circular to heads of public schools in Nyanza.
But a day later, Education Secretary George Magoha said that school buses will no longer be used to carry people to weddings, funerals and other events across the country.
Mr Magoha without giving reasons behind the countrywide ban added that renting out the buses amounts to misuse of facilities meant for the children.
“We will not sit and allow people to misuse facilities of our children. We will give authorisation from Jogoo House, it does not matter if you are a government official,” Mr Magoha said on Tuesday.
But reference to the mandatory approval from Jogoo House is widely seen as a move to make it impossible to getting the buses for the private functions over the weekend due to the bureaucracy involved.
Primary and secondary schools have for years rented out their buses over the weekends for travel to weddings, funerals and other social events even as accountability of the funds remains in question.
To most of these schools grappling with financial constraints, charging as high as Sh20, 000 a weekend has turned out to be a source of quick cash for their operations.
But with accountability of the funds clouded in controversies, Mr Magoha seem s to have found the opportune time to end what he described as misuse of facilities only meant for the learners.
Those who go for the institutions’ buses say that they are cheap and more available compared to buses and matatus from the public transport.
But just a day after the ban, some heads are silently expressing dissatisfaction with the ministry’s directive, saying that the ban can only be justified for schools in the lakeside region.
Even in the fear of reprisal from the authorities, some are questioning the motive behind the ban that has temporarily closed a revenue stream.
“The ministry should have at least told us the reasons behind the ban, because for years the renting of our buses has been a source of funding for schools,” said a head who sought anonymity for fear of reprisal.
According to some head of the schools who spoke on condition of anonymity, they will now be forced to refund advance payments that had already been made for the buses ahead of the weekend’s activities.
They had received payments for use of the buses but the un-expected directive has halted their plans and to them, another financial inconvenience has hit them at a time the government has been ruthless in ending a host of charges that the schools relied on for cash.
