Professor Julius Bitok, Basic Education Principal Secretary under the Ministry of Education (MoE), Professor Julius Bitok, has pointed the finger at school heads who have yet to submit accurate data, stating that they are responsible for the hold-up in releasing capitation funds.
Addressing the press on Sunday, Bitok disclosed that of the 22,000 schools across the country, only 3,000 had received capitation so far.
He explained that an audit of enrollment records was still ongoing, hence slowing the process.
The audit was initiated by the Auditor General and endorsed by Members of Parliament after revelations that billions of shillings had previously been lost through capitation allocations to “ghost” schools.
To prevent a recurrence, principals and Sub-County Directors of Education were tasked with submitting verified data for review.
According to the PS, the exercise has dragged on because only a fraction of schools have provided complete and accurate data.
“I have asked the team here to work throughout the weekend to ensure that they wire the money as soon as possible. We are anticipating that by the end of next week, all our schools, all 22,000, will have received the capitation,” Bitok said.
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He further urged school leaders to act quickly to avoid further setbacks. “Otherwise, I want to call upon all the principals and all the sub-county directors of education who have not submitted data in the correct format to do so expeditiously, because it is that data that we are relying on to verify the number of students and the number of schools and to make sure that the right schools and the right candidates get their capitation,” he emphasized.
His statement comes just days after the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) cautioned that schools may face closure before mid-term if funds are not released promptly.
During a press briefing on August 31, KUPPET national chairperson Omboko Milemba urged the Treasury to fast-track the disbursement of third-term funds. He argued that the delays were putting immense strain on schools’ operations and undermining access to education.
“In the first term, some schools closed earlier because there was no money in the schools, so we are insisting that the government has a responsibility to release the money to schools so that the learners can get quality education,” Milemba said.
He added: “We will not stop telling them to release the funds because teachers are suffering, principals, and of course the learners, because if there is no money by midterm, then we shall be asking the principals to close the schools.”
By Joseph Mambili
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