Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary General Akelo Misori has told off Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu saying his uncommitted remarks regarding school capitation funds are nurturing distrust among Kenyans towards him.
While addressing the 46th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Conference at Sheikh Zayed Hall in Mombasa recently, Misori said that even the Ksh24 billion capitation monies that were released by the Ministry are yet to reach many schools to date.
“On the critical issue of capitation, Parliament allocates funds, meagre as they are, yet financial years roll over before the same is disbursed to schools. I am glad that our Cabinet Secretary Hon Ezekiel Machogu, and the Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Belio Kipsang’ will be here. These gentlemen are fast losing the trust of Kenyans,” he said.
“How can a whole Cabinet Secretary promise Parliament and KESSHA that he will release Ksh28 billion, only to release Ksh24 billion, and the same has not reached many schools even today?” he posed.
However, Machogu while addressing the same conference downplayed the sentiments and announced that the current quarterly capitation system has been abolished and they will revert to disbursement of capitation on a 50:30:20 ratio for first, second and third term respectively.
“I understand the challenges and the constraints that these delays [in capitation disbursement] cause to operations in your schools. We are working diligently to streamline the disbursement systems, by employing advanced technologies and automated processes to expedite the flow of funds,” he said.
At the same time, Misori also blamed both CS Machogu and PS Kipsang’ over poor monitoring of Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs) which he said are non-functioning especially in Mombasa.
“These two officials have also buried their heads in the sand over non-functioning Junior Secondary Schools. I challenge the Cabinet Secretary to visit a random primary school here in Mombasa and tell Kenyans the kind of teaching he has observed,” he said.
The KUPPET boss stated that though they fully supported a system change from 8-4-4 to Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), free secondary education and the 100 percent transition policy, the government was yet to put in place adequate measures and infrastructure to support the development.
“Regrettably, the government has not matched its big ambitions with necessary investment. While our school populations have increased two-fold over the past fifteen years, teachers’ numbers have remained unaffected. New recruits mainly replace those exiting the service, hence the situation where almost 40 percent of teachers in public schools work under Boards of Management,” said Misori.
Regarding the welfare of teachers, Misori assured the school bosses that they will win a new salary package this year as they will embark on a new journey to negotiate for their pound of flesh from the government.
“Having passed his first budget, President Ruto is now fully in charge of public spending. We appreciate his allocations for promotions and the recruitment of new intern teachers in the current budget. Next is the re-opening of negotiations for a new CBA to give teachers their deserved increment.” He said.
By Roy Hezron
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