Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General (SG) Collins Oyuu has asked the government to review allocation of capitation funds to alleviate financial difficulties faced by school heads due to the current economic inflation.
“The capitation to schools has remained the same for ten years despite the cost of living shooting up by more than 50%. The price of basic commodities has now doubled. We are sitting on a time bomb since managing hungry teenagers is not an easy task,” he said.
Speaking during a church funds drive in Rarieda constituency, Oyuu said that the Union was supporting the recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) for the government to augment capitation to schools to make the learning institutions manageable.
He disclosed that school heads were struggling to feed and keep students in school using the current allocation thus affecting their mental health.
“The effect of the meager capitation is that our heads now suffer from blood pressure and heart ailments because they are struggling to make ends meet. We urge the government to increase the capitation funds and release it on time,” he said.
The SG lamented that even with the current capitation, the disbursement came late even after announcing through the media that that they had done so, piling further pressure on schools.
Oyuu said that the Union will continue fighting for the welfare of teachers especially school heads and promised to be part of the delegation attending the KESSHA heads conference in Mombasa to push the government to revise the capitation.
He noted that a number of Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs) had missed out on capitation funds since some pupils were not registered on NEMIS.
“Some heads were shocked when they learnt that their school account balances were reading zero shillings. The explanation from the Ministry of Education is that some students were not on NEMIS. This should have been handled better,” he remarked.
Oyuu was flanked by the Union National Treasurer James Ndiku, Deputy SG Hesbon Otieno and National Executive Member representing Nyanza Alex Dunga.
By Erick Nyayiera
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