Kessha chairman Willie Kuria during a past interview/FileThe Kenya Secondary Schools Association has called on the government to release capitation funds for first term to avert disruption of learning as learners settle down for the new academic year.
The government is expected to disburse Sh48.4 billion to all public primary and secondary schools in the country for first term.
Speaking in Murang’a, Kessha chairman Willie Kuria said the delayed release of the funds has forced some school heads to send learners home for fees arrears to enable them keep the schools running.
“One major problem is that schools were not given the entire capitation (last term); there was a balance of Sh7,000 per student out of the expected Sh22,000. That money never came so schools closed with debts, including salary arrears,” Kuria said.
Each student in a public secondary school in Kenya is entitled to a capitation grant of Sh22,244 per year.
The grant is part of the government's Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) programme introduced in 2007 to help learners from vulnerable households enroll in secondary school.
The capitation is distributed in three tranches; 50 per cent of the grant is given in the first term, 30 per cent in the second term, and 20 per cent in the third term.
“We opened this term we thought that the money would be in the bank, so far there isn’t any capitation in schools,” Kuria said.
Learners in both primary and secondary schools started reporting for the first term of the 2025 academic year on Monday last week.
In a statement on January 4, Education CS Julius Ogamba said that capitation for first term would be disbursed on time to avert the perennial financial woes that schools have experienced in the past.
But in a twist, National Treasury CS John Mbadi said the earliest schools should expect the funds is January 31.
In an interview with Nation on January 8, Mbadi said the government’s priority this year was to pay back loans, release capitation to schools, pay salaries, and release the December county revenue share.
He said his ministry was mobilising resources and working with the Education Ministry to avail the funds by end month.
Mbadi asked schools to exercise patience as the National Treasury works to avail the money.
"Let schools not act like there is an emergency, learning can still go on even if we have not released the funds,'' Mbadi said.
This means school heads will have to find alternatives to keep schools running until the funds reflect in the accounts.
