President William Ruto has issued a warning to teachers asking parents with children in public Junior Secondary Schools to pay fees.
Speaking during a church service in Busia County on Sunday, January 21, President Ruto said the government disbursed Ksh62 billion as capitation for all learners and bursaries.
He cautioned school heads lying to parents that government funds had not reached the schools and termed the trend as ‘bad manners”.
“The government of Kenya sent Ksh 62 billion for our learners in the primary schools, Junior Secondary, TVETs, Universities, and bursaries to be issued by our MPs,” Ruto said in the church function.
“There are some heads who are telling parents that government funds have not reached them. Those people will quit the bad manners of demanding money from parents whilst the government has already provided the funds,” he warned.
In an earlier statement on January 17, the Ministry of Education confirmed that it had disbursed 1.192 billion Capitation for Technical Vocational Education Colleges (TVET) Institutions.
According to a statement by the Ministry, the capitation funds would help to enhance the success of TVETs in imparting various skills on learners.
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The Ministry also released a statement announcing the release of Ksh14.4 billion, money meant to finance the second tranche of higher education loans and scholarships for students in public universities.
Of the Ksh14.4 billion, Ksh10 billion would go to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) while Ksh3.8 billion would go to the Universities Fund for scholarships.
Earlier on January 8 during the release of the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced that the government had disbursed Ksh31 billion for the Free Primary Education and Junior Secondary capitation.
The funds, according to Machogu, were supposed to reach schools from as early as January 9.
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However, the government had been subjected to pressure from MPs who complained about delays in disbursing money for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
A section of legislators from across the political divide had piled pressure on Treasury Cabinet Prof Njuguna Ndung’u Secretary to resign for the government’s failure to release the CDF funds ahead of reopening.
Schools reopened for the 2024 1st term from January 8 after a two-month holiday in October 2023.