The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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President William Ruto has cautioned education officials involved in extorting money from parents, asserting that the government has already disbursed education funds.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service in Busia County on Sunday, Ruto expressed awareness of the unethical practices where officials demand school fees from parents despite the funds being allocated.
He emphasized that the government has allocated Ksh.60 billion in capitation to all learning institutions nationwide, including Ksh.10 billion in bursaries to facilitate widespread student access to education.
“Listen to me, these individuals will cease this misconduct because the government has released the funds… I want to advise those managing the education sector not to exploit parents with false claims that the government has not released any money,” Ruto stated.
“We have allocated Ksh.62 billion to our primary and secondary schools, universities, TVET institutions, including Ksh.10 billion in bursaries to our MPs to enable children from vulnerable families to attend school.”
Affirming the government’s commitment to enhancing education access, Ruto mentioned the hiring of an additional 56,000 teachers and announced plans to recruit an additional 2,000 teachers for TVETs in the coming week.
“We have employed 56,000 new teachers to educate our children. This week, 2,000 teachers will be hired for TVETs because we recognize the importance of education and aim for every child to receive an education for equality,” he emphasized.
While clarifying that primary education in Kenya is free and government-supported, Ruto explained that in boarding schools, the government provides subsidies, with parents responsible for boarding fees based on school locations and categories.
The National Treasury disbursed Ksh.4.74 billion on January 3 to the State Department for Basic Education to facilitate free primary education for Term 1. Additionally, Ksh.7.6 billion was allocated as capitation for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
On January 17, Ksh.192 billion was disbursed to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, with Education PS Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria stating that the funds would support tuition, training materials, utilities, and co-curricular activities.
