President Ruto orders review of school capitation as costs rise

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 5 – President William Ruto has directed the Ministry of Education to review government capitation for public schools, saying current funding levels have not kept pace with rising education costs.

Ruto said the rates used to finance learners in secondary schools and Junior Secondary Schools had remained unchanged since 2015, despite significant changes in the education sector over the past decade.

The President said the review should consider increasing the amount allocated per learner to ensure schools have sufficient resources to support teaching and learning.

Speaking during the World Teachers’ Day celebrations at Kasarani on Monday, Ruto said the existing allocations were no longer adequate to meet schools’ operational needs.

“The last time school capitation was reviewed was in 2015. The Ksh22,000 for our secondary schools was reviewed in 2015, and the Ksh14,000 for JSS was also done in 2015,” he said.

Ruto said the allocation for primary education should also be considered as part of the review.

“I believe we need to review that Ksh22,000 upwards, Ksh14,000 upwards and the Ksh2,300 upwards to make sure that there are adequate resources to teach our children in school,” he said.

The President directed the Ministry and other stakeholders, including the Teachers Service Commission, to begin the process once the ongoing tertiary education placement and funding exercise is concluded.

“Since 2015, so much has happened. So, my instruction to the Ministry of Education and all the stakeholders, including TSC, immediately we finish the tertiary placement and funding bill, we will embark on reviewing the amounts that are required for teaching our children,” Ruto said.

The proposed review comes amid continued concerns over the adequacy and timely release of government funding to public schools.

The Government recently released more than Sh18.5 billion in capitation for the third term to support operations in public basic education institutions.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said Sh18.508 billion had been released to facilitate the running of schools and ensure learning activities continued without disruption.

Of the amount, Sh1.4 billion was allocated to the Free Primary Education programme, while Junior Secondary Schools received Sh6.14 billion under the Free Day Junior School Education programme.

Free Day Secondary Education received the largest share at Sh10.96 billion.

Ogamba directed school heads and principals to ensure the funds are used prudently and exclusively for the benefit of learners.

He also warned schools against imposing unauthorised charges on parents, insisting that public resources must be properly accounted for.

The latest directive comes as schools continue to grapple with rising operational costs, including learning materials, utilities, maintenance and other expenses required to keep institutions running.

The Government’s proposed review could therefore affect the amount schools receive per learner across different levels of basic education.

Ruto said the exercise should establish realistic funding levels that reflect the current cost of delivering education, rather than relying on figures that have remained unchanged for years.

The review is expected to involve the Ministry of Education, TSC and other stakeholders as the Government seeks to address concerns over the financing of public education.