This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
Free primary and subsidised secondary education have been instrumental in expanding access to education and enabling eligible children to learn. Since the introduction of free primary schooling in 2003 and subsidised secondary education in 2008, enrolment has improved significantly.
However, the cash subsidy programme is facing a major crisis. The government has not disbursed cash to schools, leaving them without the necessary funds to procure teaching and learning materials or meet other financial obligations.
As schools reopened for the third term, which is largely dedicated to national examinations, the government's failure to disburse cash has put schools in a precarious situation. Many schools employ teachers under the board of management to plug staff deficits, but without capitation, they cannot pay salaries, creating disquiet that is not conducive to quality learning.
The government's commitment to disbursing cash to schools in three instalments has not been fulfilled, raising questions about its sincerity. The severity of the crisis is coming to bear at a time when schools are preparing for national exams, and they require cash to buy materials for practical subjects.
Compounding the problem is the government's ceiling on the maximum amount of chargeable fees, which is Sh53,000 per student for national boarding secondary schools. This sum is never adequate to run all programmes, even with an additional Sh22,000 from the government capitation.
Launched this year, the campaign to enrol all students to secondary school under the
