Education

Relief for schools as state releases Sh30.5bn capitation funds

Education CS Ezekiel Machogu (File photo)

By Lucy Mumbi | Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers had given the government seven days to release all the capitation funds owned to public schools.

Operations in schools can now run smoothly after the government released Sh30.5 billion for secondary schools and universities.

This comes after school heads pressured the government to release the funds, failure to which they would initiate a strike.

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The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) had given the government seven days to release all the capitation funds owned to public schools.

Of the total disbursement, Sh7 billion has been allocated to Junior Secondary School level, while Sh16 billion will cover capitation grants for the Free Day Secondary School education program.

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said schools will receive the funds before they close for the April holidays next week.

Additionally, Sh6.8 billion has been earmarked to cater to loans through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), with an additional Sh3.98 billion allocated for scholarships via the Universities Fund (UF).

Machogu noted that in the 2024-25 Financial Year, the government has so far released Sh32 billion towards loans and Sh12 billion for scholarships.

Under the New Higher Education Funding model, Machogu said the Universities Fund will disburse funds directly to individual universities for the successful candidates to cover their tuition fees.

"On its part, HELB will disburse tuition loans directly to respective universities/colleges and upkeep loans to the respective student bank accounts or mobile phone numbers. Universities will receive the scholarship portions for their respective students," he said.

He added that the categorization of students was realised through a reliable scientific method, the Means Testing Instrument (MTI), used to determine the student's level of financial need, to ensure they are supported.

However, the New Higher Education Funding Model applies to the students who sat the KCSE exams from 2022 going forward.

2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (KCSE) candidates will form the second cohort of students to be funded under the new funding model once they join universities and colleges later this year.

"The Ministry of Education wishes to express the government's unwavering commitment to promoting access to university education and providing financial support to students, to ensure no one is left behind," Machogu said.

In January, the government released Sh14.4 billion to cover scholarships and loans for government-sponsored first-year students in universities under the New Higher Education Funding Model.

The funds also covered loans for semester two of the 2023/2024 Academic Year for continuing students.

In October 2023, the government also disbursed Sh5.3 billion for student loans and a further Sh3.9 billion for scholarships for first year students under the New Funding Model.

Sh10.3 billion was also released to HELB in September 2023, to cater for continuing student loans in universities and TVET colleges.