Azimio leader Raila Odinga has accused President William Ruto of lying to Kenyans that his administration had increased allocations to the education sector and enhanced capitation for all learners.
In a statement on Tuesday, January 2, Odinga said there will be a different reality when learning will resume in primary and secondary schools.
According to Odinga, the government subsidy for Free Day Secondary Education fell way below requirement by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year.
“The government’s own data indicate that the country had 3,690,376 learners who required Ksh.82, 088,723,744 in funding. But the government approved only Ksh. 64,421,865,698. Of this approved amount, only Ksh. 64,421,850,160.01 was actually disbursed to schools, leaving a deficit of 17,666,873,584,” he said.
Consequently, the opposition leader revealed that 794,231 students were left without any form of funding from the government.
Further, he explained that the government disbursed only Ksh17, 339 instead of Ksh 22,244 per child in the financial year 2022/2023.
Therefore, he argues that President Ruto owes each child on this programme some Ksh.4, 905.
“The total money owed to schools from the financial year 2022/2023 is Ksh.18,101,294,280,” said Raila.
Additionally, Raila stated that the Ruto administration disbursed only Ksh.3, 327.87 per child instead of Ksh.22, 244 in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Besides,he said this only 14 per cent of the required amount and the government owes some Ksh.18, 916, 13 (85%) of what is needed.
“Ruto owes secondary schools a total of Ksh 69,807,632,165. It is not even clear whether the paltry 14 per cent said to have been disbursed has actually been discharged. There is a big
disconnect between what the government says and what is actually implemented.
It is not true that the Kenya Kwanza administration has enhanced any funding for free education,” said Raila.
Parents & Teachers Burden
Furthermore, the former Prime Minister said parents are struggling with the increased amount in the fee structures supplied by the government to secondary schools.
According to him, the school fees bill is beyond the reach of most parents.
At the same time, Raila stated that school heads are struggling to meet the basic resourcing needs of their schools.
“So, which funding did the Kenya Kwanza government increase? If funding has been increased, why is the Medical (NHIF Eduafya) program running into trouble? Is the regime funding corruption or learners? Is Kenya Kwanza funding real or ghost learners and schools?” questioned Raila.
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In addition, he said the government’s failure to release full capitation to all schools is affecting learning especially poorer schools.
This he said leads to low pay, overcrowded classes and lack of resources for special education and support staff.
The ODM leader argued that underfunding in schools is a direct result of corruption and deliberate and harmful political choices.
He also accused the government of suppressing regions seen to have no shares in Kenya Kwanza.
Again, Raila wondered why Ruto prioritized affordable housing but refused to finance the education sector.
Raila Demands
For this reason, Raila demanded that the government must release all the monies owed to schools.
Also, he said the Ministry of Education must release capitation at the approved rate of Ksh22, 244 per child for the financial year 2023/2024.
Besides, he urged all Parents Teachers Associations and school Boards of Management to demand full end equitable sharing of education funding.
“We appeal to religious leaders and civil society organizations to take up the cause of our children, call out the Kenya Kwanza administration and force it to fund the
future by paying school fees,” he said.
The Opposition leader instructed Members of Parliament and County assemblies to prioritize basic and higher education spending.
He said the legislators must embark on active steps to force the government to release public education funding before schools reopen.
