The National Assembly has passed a bill seeking to increase allocation for learners in public schools from current Ksh.1,420 per year to Ksh. 7,760.
While passing the bill, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei said the increase is meant to factor in the new Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
“The government revised the capitation per student in primary schools from the current Ksh.1,420 per year to at least Ksh.7,760 being the minimum optimal capitation factoring the new CBC education system and the prevailing high cost of living,” said Shollei.
According to Gatanga MP Edward Muriu, who sponsored the bill, it will help reduce the high cost of the CBC and cater for the school feeding for every learner.
“The increase captures not only the learning materials in a very expensive CBS system, in an economy where the cost of living is extremely high but also provides resources for feeding our children,” said Muriu.
Further, the bill plans to allow bursaries to be given to the students in primary school and JSS as another way of cushioning parents from the expensive CBC.
“This house resolves that the education bursary scheme under Section 48 of National Constituency Development Fund (NCDF) Act of 2016 be extended to support learners in primary and JSS to cater for CBC requirements,” said Shollei.
Also, the National Assembly directed the NCDF board in all constituencies to approve additional allocation to the education bursary scheme.
Shollei said this will support teaching and learning activities associated with CBC including the school feeding program.
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Free Education
However, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino wants the government to offer free education from primary school to the university level.
“The president is a beneficiary of education and therefore there should be free education way from primary to the university level,” he said.
Also, he criticized the new university funding model arguing that the government is destroying the education system.
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“We want the National Dialogue Committee to take into consideration this issue of HELB and bring it back. “We don’t want the current funding model which is not working,” said Babu.
In a statement before the debate, Muriu said the bill will actualize Article 53(1)(b) and (c) of the Constitution which provides for the right of every child to have quality educated nutrition.
Muriu explained that the bill will have immediate benefit to the children by improving performance, enrollment, and retention in schools.
