Plans are underway by parliament to review the capitation funds allocated to secondary schools as the current figures have been overtaken by times.
Harsh economic times coupled by the effects of COVID-19 pandemic have been blamed for the current financial crunch in public schools.
According to Gilgil Mp Martha Wangari, many schools had challenges in fully implementing the free education programme due to the financial crunch.
She noted that the most affected were small and upcoming schools which were receiving low funds thus affecting implementation of development projects.
“We shall introduce a motion in Parliament to set up an equalisation fund for these small schools as the capitation programme is ineffective,” she said.
Speaking after opening Kariandusi Secondary school in Gilgil she hit out at the CS for Education Professor George Magoha for giving contradictory statements on school fees.
She noted that many parents were yet to recover from the pandemic that saw many of them lose their jobs and source of livelihood.
“We are also calling on the Treasury to release all the remaining funds for bursaries before the end of the financial year so that we can assist those parents affected by the pandemic,” she said.
This came as the Council of Governors called for support from the national government towards Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE).
According to the chair of the education Committee in the Council Mutahi Kahiga, the sector was underfunded and understaffed.
He said that the council was working on a proposal to have the ECDE’s allocated funding like health in a bid to address the current challenges.
Speaking in Naivasha during a validation workshop on ECDE, the Nyeri Governor said that under the new programme all ECDE teachers would be put under a scheme of service.
“Funding has been a major challenge in this sector while efforts by counties to employ more staff have been affected by the high wage bill,” he said.
On her part, the CAS for Education Dr Sarah Ruto termed ECDE as very crucial in the child’s foundation and hence the need for more support.
She said plans were underway for the State to financially support disabled teachers in colleges due to their demands while in training.
“Under the new programme all ECDE teachers will have to get a diploma and there will be a scheme of service and a curriculum for them,” she said.