NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 6 – Lawmakers are pushing for primary, junior, and secondary schools to be allowed to charge additional levies to compensate for a severe budget deficit in school capitation, which is crippling operations in learning institutions across the country.

Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee on supplementary budget, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, acknowledged the significant funding shortfall and called on legislators to act urgently to prevent further school disruptions.

“For years, Kenya’s education system has struggled with inadequate capitation funding, leaving school administrators unable to meet operational costs,” Kipsang stated.

“We can only present a supplementary budget to Parliament, as we have today, and hope that this House will listen to us and allocate funds adequately so that we can deliver what we promised our children.”

Funding Shortfalls

Kipsang revealed that while the ideal cost of delivering education per student in public day schools should be Sh22,224 per year, the government has consistently allocated only Sh17,000 per student.

The deficit has placed immense financial pressure on schools, many of which are struggling to remain operational.

The funding shortfall is particularly severe at the junior secondary level, where the government allocated Sh30 billion for the current financial year, despite an estimated requirement of Sh46 billion, leaving a Sh16 billion gap.

Primary schools are also facing a Sh1.2 billion shortfall, further deepening the crisis in learning institutions.

“What the government is doing at the moment is block funding, yet normally, capitation should be calculated by multiplying the budgeted amount per child by the number of students,” Kipsang explained.

Despite these challenges, Kipsang noted that the Ministry of Education had disbursed 25% of the available capitation funds at the start of the year, with the National Treasury committing to release another 25% by mid-term, bringing the total disbursement to 50% of allocated funds.

“We made sure our schools are not totally grounded by giving them an initial 25 percent of the resources, with a commitment that by the middle of the term, we shall have disbursed the remaining 25 percent,” he stated.

Realistic Budgeting

The National Assembly Education Committee pressed PS Kipsang on the discrepancy between budgeted and disbursed capitation funds, questioning why the Ministry continues to budget Sh22,000 per student, yet only Sh17,000 is allocated—and even then, disbursements are often delayed.

MPs expressed frustration over the slow release of funds, arguing that many school heads are unable to run institutions smoothly.

Some proposed allowing schools to charge extra levies to bridge the funding gap, while others called for the Ministry to be transparent about the budget shortfall and adjust its planning accordingly.

“Out of the 17,000 per child, you are saying you have only disbursed Sh3,000. Please tell us which figures do you use to budget at the start of the year? Do you use Sh22,000 or Sh17,000?” Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo posed.

Kibra MP Peter Orare suggested an immediate policy shift to allow schools to impose additional levies.

“Let the students be allowed to charge extra levies so that they can meet the deficit,”Orare noted.

Committee Chair Julius Melly (Tinderet MP) urged the Ministry to stop relying on inflated projections, arguing that Kenyans should be aware of the actual budget deficit in school funding.

“You normally give us a proposed budget of Sh74 billion, but you get Sh54 billion. Can you be using Sh54 billion to budget so that Kenyans can know we have a shortfall?” Melly posed.

“That’s why we are telling you, PS, you should put in place a strong case—not to increase the amount but to get the whole figure. There is a petition coming to this committee saying the government is now funding secondary school students at Sh17,000,” he added.

Other MPs raised concerns about the direct impact of delayed funding on students, noting that school heads are left with no option but to send learners home due to lack of operational funds.

“The problem we are facing in the constituencies and counties is that money has not hit the schools, and therefore the principals cannot run schools. By extension, they are sending our children home because the money for capitation has not reached schools in the right quantities,”Kasipul Kabondo MP Eve Obara said.

Treasury’s Capitation Pronouncement

The capitation crisis has been worsened by a recent policy directive from the National Treasury, which declared that unpaid capitation funds from previous financial years should not be considered government debt.

This means that schools cannot expect to receive arrears owed to them, further exacerbating financial instability.

Lawmakers questioned the legality of the move, warning that it could push schools deeper into financial distress, as many had budgeted with the expectation that previous arrears would be released.

Luanda MP Dick Maungu took issue with the Treasury’s stance, questioning whether the declaration was a policy directive or a mere political statement.

“Do you think as an accounting officer this pronouncement will run the department into headwinds? Because the head teachers back in the villages have been expecting this money to come. The Treasury CS has declared that that should not be treated as debt. Was that a declaration or just a political pronouncement?” Maungu asked.

In response, a Ministry official acknowledged the reality of the situation, explaining that the government operates on a cash accounting system, meaning that funds not disbursed within a financial year are not carried forward.

“I think that’s just the reality. Government is on cash accounting, so he was saying as long as we are on cash accounting, whatever was not remitted in the financial year is not carried forward,” Kipsang stated.